ALLIED MILLS is being coy about the future of the heritage-listed dingo flour mill in North Fremantle.

The mill will soon be the last remnant of the industry that once dominated the area: the nearby Matilda Bay brewery and Tubemakers sites are being primed for residential redevelopment.

Driving past the mill recently the Chook noticed the iconic dingo sign was faded and little seems to have been spent on the facade.

The building’s condition also caught the eye of David Lyons, the son of a painter who’d completed his apprenticeship with the dingo’s original artist David Nash (not Alan Bond!). Mr Lyons has been plugging away since 2010 trying to get Allied to splash out on some paint to bring the art back to life.

The company replied to him in February 2011 saying it didn’t have the money.

Mr Lyons approached the WA heritage office, but executive director Graeme Gammie says there’s nothing it can do.

“Care and maintenance is the responsibility of the private owners,” Mr Gammie told the Herald.

“To assist private owners with the conservation of their registered places the heritage council has an annual grants program.”

But when the Chook contacted Allied—a 60-40 joint venture between GrainCorp and Cargill—a curt “no comment” was all it would offer on both the mural and the mill’s future.

GrainCorp’s been in the news lately, with US-based global food processor Archer Daniels Midland trying to buy the company out. ADM was knocked back by federal treasurer Joe Hockey following a senate inquiry last year into how the deal might affect competition across the country

Last month trade minister Andrew Robb confirmed the government will immediately allow the American food conglomerate to lift its stake in GrainCorp from 19.85 per cent to almost 25 per cent. Mr Robb also flagged a full takeover may be given the go-ahead later.

The sale is opposed by farmers who fear it will give ADM too much market power.

by CLARE KENYON