Martin Stoneware Pipe Company

One of the more interesting companies in Ballarat was the Martin Stoneware Pipe Company.  Before Martins came into being, the original company on the site was the Ballarat Pottery Company started by George Marks.  Their old chimney still stands in the Bunnings car park. 

George Marks was one of the early potters in Ballarat.  Unlike so many others, he had not made his way to the goldfields in search of riches.  Like so many others, this did not happen, although he became a shareholder in the Windsor Gold Mining Company in August 1864 and the Nairnshire Gold Mining Company in 1871.  He had accepted an offer to work in Brunswick, Victoria as a potter.  Although a Londoner, George had trained at the Doulton and Sons pottery in Staffordshire.

In 1861, George Marks established his first Ballarat Pottery Works on Creswick Road in Ballarat, near the Old Cemetery. There with the help of four boys he produced salt-glazed drain pipes, chimney pots and tiles for Ballarat builders as well as a quantity of wheel-thrown jars, flower pots and saucers, water monkeys, bread pans, butter pots, ginger beer bottles, etc. The business flourished and the building of the railway through his property gave him the opportunity to relocate closer to town at 306 Creswick Road.    Principally, the reason was that he could not obtain title to the land near the cemetery.  Clay was obtained from a number of sites around Ballarat.   

The first building on the new site was a two-storey timber framed construction of 47 feet by 90 feet.  The triple fronted timber building with the square chimney was later built.  (Square chimneys are usually of Welsh manufacture whereas circular chimneys are usually Cornish.)  Another chimney was built on top of a circular two-storey kiln containing three furnaces.  This wood and coal kiln was used to fire flower pots and chimney ornaments.  A second coal only fired kiln nearby was lined with firebricks made by Taylors Brickworks at Black Hill.

A ten-horsepower horizontal steam engine was also installed to operate the machinery at the plant.   The initial processing of the clay was carried out at the rear of the property by a horse drawn pug mill.  Different products required different grades of clay.   The pug mill worked the clay to a proper consistency that was then moved in large lumps into sheds ready to be converted into various articles.  The clay that is now pretty solid and “stiff” is then placed in a small press with a perforated bottom.  The press was worked by hand, and after the clay had passed through the perforated bottom it was almost free from stones and fit to be made into the rougher articles, such as flower-pots and tiles.  The clay from which ginger-beer bottles, water monkeys, preserve pots etcetera, were made was all carefully washed in tubs and worked up by hand before it was put upon the potter’s lathe.

Rather than rehash what has already been written about that company, I will simply reproduce this article that appeared in “The Star” on the 16^th of August 1870, headed “The Ballarat Pottery”.

  “If not one of the most important of our local industries, the Ballarat Pottery is certainly one of the most interesting.  The pottery, which is carried on by Mr George marks, is situated on the Creswick road, near the Old Cemetery, and was established in 1861.  The Mr Marks commenced with a remarkably capital, and has since worked steadily on until he has established a good business.  Very little is known of the pottery, although the articles manufactured there are in pretty general use in Ballarat.  All that the visitor sees of Mr Marks establishment from the outside is the round top of the kiln and a few sheds, but the work carried on within is interesting.  The clay of which drain pipes, tiles, chimney pots, and jars are manufactured is procured from different claims in the neighbourhood, and the first process it undergoes is being put through a pugmill worked by horsepower.  In the pugmill it is worked up to a proper consistency, and is then removed in large lumps into sheds ready to be converted into various articles.  The clay which is now pretty solid and “stiff” is then placed in a small press with a perforated bottom.  The press is worked by hand, and after the clay has passed through the perforated bottom it is tolerably free from stones and fit to be made into the rougher articles, such as flower pots and tiles.  That from which ginger-beer bottles, water monkeys, preserve pots &c, are to be made is all carefully washed in tubs and worked up by hand before it is put upon the potter’s lathe.  The chief work carried on at the Ballarat pottery is the manufacture of drain pipes of all sizes, from 2 inches in diameter to 16 inches.  When these are to be made, the clay is put in the press before referred to, but the perforated bottom is removed, and in its place a mould is fixed, according to the size of the pipes to be made.  The press is raised from the ground about three feet, and after the clay has been put in, a wooden table, running with weighted cords placed over pulleys in the roof of the shed, is allowed to run up close to the bottom of the press.  Then the operator sets the press in motion and as the pipe is forced through the mould, its weight forces the table down.  When the pipe is long enough it is cut off with a piece of string and removed, and the weights cause the table to rise up ready to receive another pipe.  This is carried on until all the clay in the press is exhausted; and the press having been refilled with clay the operation is repeated, the moulds being altered as pipes of different sizes are required.  The making of these pipes is the chief business carried on at the pottery, but by far the most interesting of the work is that done by Mr Marks on the potters lathe or wheel.  The potter’s wheel is a small iron table made to revolve by means of cog-wheels upon a handle like that of a windlass being turned.  Upon this wheel, or revolving table, the potter makes flower pots and saucers, water monkeys, bread pans, butter pots, ginger beer bottles, and various other things.  The potter from practice knows the size of the piece of clay he will require for any particular article.  He takes this lum of clay, puts it on the wheel, dips his hands in water, and the boy in attendance sets the table revolving rapidly.  In a few seconds the operator, using only his hands and a small piece of tin for a scraper will turn out such small articles such as ginger-beer bottles, blacking pots, and small jars of all shapes and so quickly does he do it that the operation appears like a sort of magic to one who knows nothing of the work.  The larger articles, such as 6 and 7 gallon butter jars, or large bread pans capable of holding five or six loaves, are more difficult and take longer to make, but Mr Marks turns out any of these out, perfectly formed, in less than five minutes.  The trueness of curve and shape generally in all these things seems wonderful, for the potter does his work with great speed and has only his hands and eyes to guide him.  Chimney pots of all sizes and shapes are made by Mr Marks.  The plain round ones are made with the press in the same manner as the pipes, but the octagonal pots, moulded in the ordinary way with wooded moulds, and the sectional pieces are afterwards joined together.  Some of the designs here for chimney pots are very pretty, and there were all kinds of wonderful inventions for doing away with the smoky chimneys.  Some of the Ballarat builders deal largely with Mr Marks for chimney pots, and he turns out a large number weekly.  The clay for the manufacture of the rougher kinds of wares, such as pipes and chimney pots does not need to be very fine, and after a very slight preparation it is ready for use.  Great care, however, has to be taken in the preparation of the clay for the manufacture of such things as preserve jars, water monkeys &c.  The clay for these things is put through the pug-mill, then puddled in a tub, and when it is of proper consistency it is placed on a wooded table and worked up like dough only much more carefully.  Every little stone is picked out and the clay is worked for hours before it is fit for the potter’s wheel.  After all the smaller articles are made on the wheel they can be removed by hand, but the larger vessels being soft cannot be handles.  Before they are made, therefore a piece of wood is fixed in the wheel and the vessel after it is made, are removed together.  The next process is the drying.  Drainpipes, tiles, bottles and jars, are all stacked, and allowed to dry for a certain time until they are ready for baking in the kiln.  The drain pipes and chimney pots are burned in a kiln by themselves.  This kiln holds about 8000 drain pipes, and a large number of chimney pots, and if the  pottery was in full work two kilns per week of these articles could be baked.  This kiln has six fire holes, and costs £8 per week for fuel, both coal and wood.  A glaze is put on the pots and pipes by a large quantity of common salt being thrown in the kiln at the top.  The flower pots and other small articles are baked in a separate kiln, as they are of a frail and delicate nature, and will not stand rough handling.  The kiln set apart for them is a small one, and is divided into small compartments, made with large, flat, clay tiles.  The flower pots are not glazed, but the jam jars and ginger-beer bottles are glazed in the same manner as the drain pipes.  The small sized drain pipes are sold in large quantities to farmers and others in the district, and there is a good demand for flower pots among the gardeners and nurserymen.  Mr Marks says he can manufacture drain pipes, flower pots, plain and ornamental chimney pots, and jars of all kinds at a much lower rate than these articles can be imported for.  The Lextonshire and Avoca shire councils purchase large numbers of the 26-inch drain pipes for culverts.  Mr Marks’ chief difficulty is the want of good clay for the making of the finer sorts of pottery ware, and he is at present experimenting with various kinds of clay obtained from different parts of the district.  Most of the finer articles he has made up to the present time have been made more by way of experiment than with the hope of immediate profit, although Mr Marks is confident that the proper material he can turn out wares that will be cheaper and of as good quality as imported wares.  He carries on the pottery himself, assisted by four boys.”

Ballarat Pottery just after Martins Stoneware Pipes took over and before the fire in 1922.  The site is now the car park at Bunnings, Ballarat.  The chimney (at centre) is still there.

In 1878, George left to work at the Adelaide Pottery and Drainpipe Works, at Brompton and Caversham, leaving the running of the Ballarat Pottery mostly to his new partner Samuel Coyte.  The owner of this company was William Martin who would later buy out the Ballarat Pottery Company in 1921.  There had been a huge expansion of the sewage system in Adelaide and George was in the position to satisfy this demand.  Martins were a well known family in Adelaide, as James Martin had been a major manufacturer of farm machinery.  George died in Adelaide in 1918.  Within a few years the Ballarat Pottery had ceased to produce domestic wares although it continued making pipes and fittings until 1921, when it was taken over by William Martin and became Martin Stoneware Pipe Pty Ltd.  It is impossible to accurately identify the pottery output of this pottery because so few pieces were ever marked.  This appears to be a common element amongst the makers in and around Ballarat.

In 1922, the old works were destroyed by fire and Martin’s rebuilt.  Martins had their own way of making pipes. 

The Creswick Brick, Tile and Potteries Company that Martins then leased in 1925 began its short life in the gold mining town of Creswick in Victoria.  Many sought gold, but others provided services.  This company came along as the gold was petering out.   In late 1920, the idea of a brick and pottery works was floated. They were located on Railway Parade, opposite the North Creswick Station, occupying the area now partly occupied by the Creswick Knitting Mills.  A paint works had previously operated on the site for a short period.  Some of the buildings used by the old paint works were re-purposed and other new buildings constructed.

The company ran into difficulties almost immediately.  From the mid 1920's through to the early 1930's there was a severe down turn in the building industry and the supply from the roofing tile industry, which by this time had increased to 20 manufacturers, greatly exceeded demand.  Within months they had stopped making bricks.  Selkirk and Taylors in Ballarat had the lions share of the brick market and the infrastructure to deliver almost anywhere.  The low-volume kilns of Creswick simply could not compete.  Roofing tiles were also an issue.  The Company was confident that their distinctive coloured tiles would be a big seller.  They weren’t.  Soon, their only product was drainage tiles. 

By late 1924, the Company was calling on Shareholders for additional funds.  These were not forthcoming.  In late 1924, the company was sold and the equipment sold off. Buildings, machinery, plant and stock were sold for £2310.  the company (or rather one of the directors) retained title to the property until 1947.   In mid-1925, the Company was leased to Martins Stoneware Pipe Company.  Martin Stoneware were manufacturers of stoneware pipes, sewerage fittings, building bricks, agricultural drain pipes and tiles, fire bricks, fire blocks, ornamental bricks and chimney pots.

In February 1926, following the successful production of pipes at Creswick, Martin Stoneware Pipe Pty Ltd was formed to acquire the assets of Michael Martin, Michael Andre and William Martin at North Creswick.  25,000 £1 shares were issued and these three men became directors of the new company.

Mr Martin was a qualified Engineer and Surveyor, having surveyed the site for the Moorabool Reservoir early in his career.  His early education was at the Christian Brothers School in Skipton Street, Ballarat.  Later at St Patricks College.  He became a Land, Mining, Civil and Hydraulic Engineer.

In 1926 Mr Martin accepted an invitation from the W.S Brownless, the Engineer for the Federal Capital Commission, Water Supply and Sewerage to visit Canberra about the supply of pipes.  These pipes were tested to a pressure of 200 lb per square inch and were used in the Ballarat Sewerage system.  This was remarkable as they only had one downdraught kiln operating at the time.  The Creswick works had circular kilns.

In 1935/36, Mr Martin served his first term as Mayor of Ballarat.

 In 1938, Martin Stoneware Ltd also had a depot office at 12 Main Street Ballarat East and had incorporated Ballarat Pottery and the Black Hill Brick Company.

In 1939, Martins successfully claimed forfeiture of a mining lease at Daltons Flat, Canadian.  The respondents were the Eureka Tile and Pottery Company.  Martins alleged that Eureka had failed to comply with the terms of the lease and the court agreed.

In 1940/41 Mr Martin served his second term as Mayor of Ballarat.  He had been a Councilor for the Black Hill ward since 1929.    

In 1941, Martins purchased a machine to make pipes with a diameter of up to 18 inches.

On Friday the 12^th of June 1942 after several weeks of serious illness, Michael Martin passed away at his home, Craigs’ Hotel, his wife (No2) being the proprietor.  He left her a widow and they had one child, a daughter.

Some of his achievements included;

• Repair of Mildura Irrigation channeling
• Survey of Red Cliffs
• Lake Lonsdale Water Storage
• Eildon Water Storage
• Moorabool Reservoir for Ballarat Water Storage Commission
• Member, Public Health Commission.

In 1943, Martins made a loss due to the stoppage of building and of sewerage installation works across Victoria due to the second world war. 

In 1944 Defense contracts were starting to dry up.  Most of their business was coming from the Murray Valley Irrigation and Drainage Scheme.  This year the company made a small profit, compared to a larger loss the previous year. And an even bigger loss the year before.

In 1944, there were 50 employees.  Many works were either closed or operating on greatly reduced capacity because most of their workers had left to join the services.  It was a time when women filled the gaps at many of the works, but no records are available to tell if this was so for Martins.

In 1947, Grenfell College, formerly Victors Ballarat Collegiate School, original built in 1860 was demolished to make way for offices at Martins Stoneware.  Notable former pupils were Prime Ministers Robert Menzies and John Curtin.

In 1947, Martins constructed two new kilns and a 70-foot high chimney.  They also built a new clay shed and a building over the kilns.  These were rectangular downdraught kilns.  The height of the chimney was to draw the air through the kiln to dissipate the heat throughout the kiln.

In 1948, they began enclosing the works with a brick wall.  Ninety feet was laid.  A Panel Room was built also.  A panel room is for electrical panels.

In 1949 and extension to the factory was built

In 1953, another five hundred feet of brick wall was built.  An Administration Office was also built. 

In 1955, another brick kiln was built and the factory further expanded.  This was also a rectangular downdraught kiln.

In 1957 the company had expanded its operations and opened a new factory next to their old works in Creswick road. 

In 1959, an oil burning kiln was installed at the works and they started preparing for expanding on the site of the former flax mill on a forty-acre site at Wendouree.  A Swindell-Dressler Tunnel Kiln was built as were automatic horizontal pipe extruders.   This type of kiln is also known as a continuous kiln.  It is a long kiln in which only the centre section is heated.  From the opening, the pipes were slowly moved through the tunnel and the temperature increased until it got to the centre or hottest part where the firing happened.  As it moved through, the temperature reduced until they left the kiln considerably cooler.  It is an energy efficient way of recycling because the heat given off during cooling is recycled to pre-heat the incoming pipes.  New driers using the heat from the tunnel kiln were installed.

A decision was made to expand using a site in Wendouree. Unfortunately, additional capital was needed and the company then became a wholly owned subsidiary of Humes Ltd.

In 1962 a shelter for pipe testing machine was built.  Pressure testing and hydrostatic testing of pipes is essential to ensure quality is maintained.

In February 1963, work on the vitrified clay pipe factory began.  It was completed in September 1963. Vitrified clay pipe is made from a blend of clay and shale that has been subjected to a high temperature to achieve vitrification, resulting in a hard, inert ceramic resulting in a pipe that is resistant to all domestic and industrial sewage, particularly sulphuric acid, generated by hydrogen sulphids, a common component of sewage.

In 1965, two 5,000 gallon (2 x 22,250Lt) oil tanks were installed at the Creswick Road works.  Mr Kevin White, the Technical Supervisor for Martins went to Canberra to demonstrate a new method of laying pipes with rubber seals that could be backfilled immediately.  Martins had been awarded a two-year contract with the Commonwealth Government.

  

In July 1969, the company was renamed Humes Ltd, Vitclay Division.  On the first of April 1971, Humes Ltd and Rocla Industries and Brick and Pipe industries merged their stoneware pipe divisions to form Vitclay Pipes Pty Ltd.  This was to rationalize marketing and to pool expertise.  After these conversions, production had increased by 36%.  Production was expected to increase by 14%.  There were 127 people employed at the plant, plus clerical and executive staff.

By 1973 over $300,000 had been spent on the Wendouree property and the works had been converted to natural gas.  New sewerage fittings were being produced.  Vitclay closed in Victoria and moved to Western Australia where it still operates.

In August 1973, J.B. Cameron demolished the works.  This local family owned company began in 1895 to service the mining industry.  They broadened their business but today are mainly involved with plumbing and industrial hardware and operate throughout western Victoria.

In 1977 Permewan Wright (a grocery company) constructed a warehouse connected to a shop.  This company began in Geelong in 1854 as general carriers.  John Permewan, a former employee became a partner in 1861.  They became Permewan wright in 1881, having diversified as general merchants. In 1976 they were taken over by Herosa Nominees Ltd, now deregistered.

In 1980, a residence and outbuildings were demolished.

On the second of April 2010, the name “Martin Stonware Pipe Proprietary Limited” was also deregistered.  Their original company seal is now held at the Gold Museum in Ballarat.

The final piece of the end of Martin story in Creswick Road happened on the 2nd of November 2014 when the properties at 2 to 8 Ronald Street were consolidated into one.  They are now the garden centre at Bunnings.

This is a tale that will grow in the telling. One of the problems  I encountered when beginning this story was a common response from the organizations I approached for information.  The common response was that unless the story was about gold or the Eureka Rebellion, there wasn't much around.  How true this has been.  Nevertheless, not to be put off from a challenge, I pressed on.  I will add to this blog as I go.

Topography

Ballarat is located on the Yarrowee river, approximately 115 kilometers west of Melbourne, the State capital of Victoria.  (Co-ordinates -37.56121° N 143.8443° E).  It covers 740 square kilometers (290 square miles).  It is the third largest city by population in Victoria with around 100,000 people.  The current City of Ballarat was created at the end of 1994 following an amalgamation of the City of Ballaarat, Shire of Ballarat, Borough of Sebastopol, and parts of the Shires of Buninyong, Bungaree, Grenville and Ripon.  Its genesis was the discovery of gold in August 1851.

Soils

Ballarat sits on Paleozoic bedrock consisting of deep marine terbidites (a fine particulate sand or other coarse material deposited by ocean currents in ancient deep ocean troughs).  This is divided into Ordovician and Cambrian.  A thin, but extensive layer of sand dating to the Pliocene period extends inland from the coast as far as Ballarat.  Two deformations of the Paleozoic rocks occurred in the middle Silurian period.  Extensive erosion in the post Paleoxoic times intensified after the Cretacious uplift.  Sedimentation and volcanic activity further altered the landscape.  Significant gold mineralization occurs in quartz reefs in the bedrock. 

Also found in large quantities around Ballarat is mudstone, or hardened mud made up of a fine-grained sedimentary rock. (Originally clay with grains too fine to be seen without a microscope).  It also contains other minerals such as calcite.  Some mudstone becomes shale, (or laminated and fissile mudstone).  Shale is characterized by compaction into laminations, or layers about one centimeter thick.  “Fissile” means that the shale easily splits along the laminations.  Historically, the terms “shale” and “Slate” were interchangeable.  Shale can be crushed and mixed with water to form clays for brick making.  Shale is thinly stratified, consolidated, sedimentary clay with well-marked cleavage parallel to the bedding.  Very early in the days of European settlement, large quantities of this fine and even grained mudstone shale were discovered close to the surface in and around Ballarat.   Pictured above  is the Northcote Brick Works pit.  This shows the stratification of the shale, the depth of the pit and the railway used to raise the clay from the pit.

Aboriginal Occupation

Prior to European settlement, Ballarat was part of the range of the Watha Warrung people, part of the Wartharung.  It id from their language that the name Balla Arat comes, said to mean “resting place, or “elbow” for a bend in the river, or resting on your elbow.  The Warthorung are one of 30 tribes which occupied Victoria. The language they spoke was one of 20 dialects in the area.  Their territory stretched from Fiery Creek and Ballarat to the Werribee Creek in Werribee, expanding west to Aireys Inlet. It is estimated that this area was inhabited as far back as 40,000 years ago.  They were hunter-gatherers, living on the natural produce existing in the area. Men hunted while women gathered plants. People ate local animals, plants, fish and shellfish. They did not use boats, but fished from shallow waters using nets.

Life depended on the seasonal availability of different plants and animals. The foreshores and creeks provided ideal places to fish and hunt for seafood and salt water plants as well as fresh water fish and eels. Creeks also provided drinking water, encouraged animals to the area and nourished other plants and trees. Ingredients for medicine and painting, materials for clothing and implements for activities such as hunting and aids for carrying babies were found locally or traded with neighbouring tribes.

Occupation of the Port Phillip region in the early 19th century had a profound effect on Aboriginal people in the area. Frontier violence (the conflict between the Aboriginal inhabitants and the new settlers) was another major cause of death.  Disruption of food sources by people and stock and the destruction of camping and meeting places all severely disrupted Aboriginal lifestyles and caused a disastrous decline in birth rate.  On the 23^rd of September 1896, William (Frank) Wilson, reputed to be the last full blood Watha Warrung in the area died.  Know to European settlers as “King Billy”, “the last of the Ballarat tribe”, but Aboriginal culture still survives in Ballarat.

  

 (Adapted from))

ICACC

http://www.icacc.org.au/culture-and-history/boonerwrung-people

The earliest reference to any brick making in Ballarat is just prior to the Eureka Rebellion.  The person concerned was Paulo Brentani who arrived in Australia at the age of 26 in April 1853 aboard the “Appleton” He made his way to Ballarat and presumably tried his luck at gold mining.  He was a Ballarat resident in 1854 and the only other Italian mentioned by Raffaelo Carboni in his book “The Eureka Stockade”.

Raffaelo Carboni

“Once, I had seen him with my mate, Paul Brentani, about manufacturing bricks from the splendid clay of the gravel pits.  Mr. Rede received us as gentlemen, and by way of encouragement, said to Paul, “Je viex bien aider, car tout est encore a batir a Ballaarat, et il nous fait des briques – revenez me voir.”

(The Eureka Stockade” Raffaello Carboni Sunnybrook Press 1942. P60.) 

My High-School French is a little rusty but roughly translated I think this means “I am willing to help because everything is still under construction in Ballarat and we need bricks.  Get back to me.”

(The “Gravel Pits” were described as being adjacent to the Eureka Stockade site and can be seen on early maps.)

  

(Over the years Raffaello produced a number of literary works overseas, but a thing I note about this book was his continuous and excessive display of his classical education.)  There is no record of Paulo getting back to Commissioner Rede.   Later events overtook the proposed enterprise and the brick works never eventuated and Thomas Mewburn later became Ballarat’s first brick maker.

A Whimper and a Bang

For years, many old brick works had lain empty, idle, pillaged for building material, vandalized and defaced by graffiti with their nearby deep brick pits long since filled by years of the area's refuse.  Within seconds, tall brick chimneys would fall to the ground in a cloud of dust and ash.  Their falls were barely noticed; their significance known only to a few locals present.  And that is how over one hundred years of brick making in Ballarat almost came to an end.  Chimneys were the last operational remnant of this once thriving industry, now gone.  Their collapse was almost the end of an era.

These chimneys were part of the Oakleigh Brick Works in Stamford Road Oakleigh.  This long established company operated there from 1912 until 1976.  They had supplied countless millions of bricks for the building of Oakleigh and the surrounding suburbs.  Their story and that of most other brick makers has all but disappeared from the landscape and is fast moving from memory into history.  The story of the brick works in Ballarat is of significance as an example of our early local industry.   Bricks manufactured at their sites were used to construct the majority of the older buildings in Ballarat, including many of its public buildings and these works were a major employer in Ballarat for many decades.  

Bricks are everywhere.  They are one of the oldest building materials known and are an almost universal method of building.  Historically, bricks were made close to where they were intended to be used.  This was also the case in Victoria.  Many brick works were built in Ballarat during the late 19^th and early 20^th Centuries to service construction works in the newly established and rapidly growing city and the surrounding area.  Some small, some quite large that operated for long periods.

Man fears time, but time fears the Sphinx.  So goes an old saying.  The Sphinx is only limestone and has suffered from erosion over the centuries.  Pity it wasn’t made of brick though.  A brick is a permanent monument to its maker.  The only lasting memorial that moves unchanged through time.   Old father time with his cold breath and crushing hands has so far been unable to destroy a well-made brick.  It does not matter if the brick is in a fireplace or chimney, a cottage or a palace, Its silence speaks to us of its maker, long gone and unknown.  To paraphrase Carlisle, In bricks lies the history of the whole past world.  

Making bricks goes on all over the world and has done for thousands of years.  The basics are the same wherever you go and are similar to baking a cake or a loaf of bread.  You mix the ingredients, put them into a mould, bake them, let them cool, and use them.  With brick making, the process needs lots of continuous heat, usually from a fire and an insulated chamber to fire them in.  Huge quantities of wood or coal were burned to make each batch. 

When someone came to an area that had sufficient clay, a small kiln, usually made of mud or unfired clay (and known as a “Clamp”) would be built to hold the “green” bricks.   The Brick Maker stacked the bricks appropriately to ensure sufficient space around them to conduct the heat.  When the bricks were suitably “fired” they could be used.  The brick maker would eventually make enough bricks to build a simple Scotch kiln or rectangular downdraught kiln.  This type of kiln was popular at the time and generally had sufficient capacity to hold up to forty to sixty thousand bricks.  This meant that the kiln had sufficient thermal mass and volume to produce commercial quantities of bricks necessary to ensure that the kiln cooled slowly and less heat was lost during firing.  The vast woodlands around Ballarat were quickly used up by early gold mining and the brick making process as well as the many farmers moving into the area.

Put simply, bricks are man-made rocks.  We take sedimentary material and turn it into a metamorphic one by applying heat.  They are small individually moulded rectangular blocks of clay of uniform size that are baked in a kiln until hard and used as a building or paving material.  The first attempt to standardize the size of a brick in England was in 1477.   Much later, Queen Elizabeth 1st granted a charter to brick and tile makers, after which a standard size of 9” x 41/4” x 2 ¼ inches became common, although variations in size continued.  In 1849 the Statute Brick was required to be this size.  Today, they are produced in a standard size; 2 ¼ inches by 3 ¾ inches by 9 inches, or 75mm by 115mm by 230mm. Whatever size, the ratio of 4:2:1 is standard.

 For much of the life of the various Ballarat Brick Works, most bricks were not stamped with the name of their maker.  This is because, may of the bricks were hand-made, but for a brief period in our modern history, the names of makers and/or brick works were stamped onto their bricks when machine-made bricks became the norm.  Prior to the 18^th Century, most bricks were handmade and locally made bricks were all used near to the site.  These earlier bricks were rectangular with all six sides being flat.  Later, an indentation called a “frog” appeared to better bond courses of bricks. During the 18^th Century, some makers again began to impress their names into the unfired clay.  

This was not a new thing because around 3,000 BC, bricks, pottery, quarry stones, and roof tiles from First Dynasty in Egypt were stamped with marks believed to be ownership marks.  During the Roman period, bricks were stamped with a mark.  The Romans made fired clay bricks, and the Roman Legions operated mobile kilns that brought bricks often stamped with the mark of that legion that supervised their production to many parts of their empire.  The use of bricks in southern and western Germany, for example, can be traced back to traditions described by the Roman architect Vitruvius.

Modern brick marks were not trademarks in the modern sense, rather an identification mark, used to advertise the quality of the product.  Modern bricks no longer have identifying marks.  The newer bricks have holes where the frog used to be and stamps are not suitable on them.

This is a wooden frog mould block used by Clifton Bricks to impress a frog and the work “Clifton” into their early hand made bricks.

Massive quantities of timber were needed to fire the brick kilns.  Huge areas of woodland covered the area.  Wood chopping events were common in Ballarat towards the end of the 19^th Century.  Fortunately, massive reserves of brown coal were near the railway in Victoria, but the problem for many early brick works was that they were operated by a sole brick maker who needed to be there twenty-four hours a day to set up, load, fire, unload and remove the bricks.

It was hard, dangerous, physical work demanding long hours and hard work for little return, except for volume production.  A single kiln with a single operator could take around two weeks to make a batch, and then set up ready for the next one.  If a fire went out, it was hard to re-start and a batch of bricks could be ruined.  Many batches of under fired bricks (or doughboys) were made during this period.  Although the workers were paid little and generally considered to be from a lower socio-economic group, the work needed skill and judgement and expert timing to be done properly.  Because competition was fierce and margins were tight, a sole proprietor also needed to have the optimum number of firing cycles from each kiln to maximize output and profit.

Significant deposits of suitable shale/clay were exploited to manufacture bricks and the forests that previously existed were used to fire the brick making kilns.  Little now remains in the area of this now vanished industry, and what does remain receives little, if any recognition.  Throughout Australia, historic brick works sites generally exist now only through neglect. By the 1860s in Victoria, there were more than 40 brickworks and potteries in Brunswick alone. But the industry gradually spread east, with works established in Box Hill, Nunawading, Oakleigh and Camberwell.  Many brick works manufactured not only bricks, but also building materials such as roof tiles, drainage pipes and domestic items such as mixing bowls and garden pots.  For example, Hoffman's brickworks in Brunswick also had a major role in manufacturing the pipes for Melbourne's sewerage works.  As a result of the depression and diminishing clay supplies from their original pits, many of Melbourne's brickworks scaled down production in the 1930s, and this was the same for the various Ballarat works; with the disused clay pits and quarries used for rubbish and garbage disposal or swimming holes and, once filled in, some were converted into parks or shopping centres (such as Highpoint City, Altona Gate and Northcote Plaza).

Testing for Age and Origin of Bricks

It is possible to test fired bricks, tiles and pottery to determine their place of origin and age.  The makeup of fired clay can be different depending on the position in the kiln and amount of heat applied.  Thus, bricks from the same batch can appear markedly different.  Bricks were only marked by their makers for a relatively short period in our history.  Bricks, although inanimate have proven to be remarkably nomadic.

It is therefore necessary that chronologies based on brick, tile and pottery are developed for dating cultures.  Trace-element analysis, mostly by neutron activation, being a nuclear process for determining the concentrations of elements in a vast amount of materials allows the sources of clay to be accurately identified.

The thermo-luminescence test can also be used to provide an estimate of the date of last firing. Examining fired bricks, tile and pottery, scientists learnt that during high-temperature firing, iron materials in clay record the exact state of Earth's magnetic field at that exact moment.

Records Search

Not only have the brick works gone, but following the passage of time, relocation of records, council amalgamation, their records appear to have been misplaced as well.  Maybe some day they may reappear.  During my research, one of the most common statements made to me by the various libraries was (and I am paraphrasing here) “Unless it is about gold or Eureka, we don’t have much.”

And the search goes on......

As records are few and far between, the only constant over much of the life of these works was the annual publication of the “Sands and MacDougall Directory.”  These were published continuously from 1859 until 1974 and are a wealth of information for any researcher. This annual publication listed most of the brick makers in Victoria over the period.  This information was matched to documentation from the Old Companies information at the Victorian Public Records Office and the old Ballarat Rate Books at the Public Records Office.

Significance

The Ballarat brick, pipe and tile making facilities are historically significant due to their association with the economic and social development of the area during the late 19^th and early 20^th Centuries and their association with community and economic life.  The brick makers are also of scientific and technological significance for European style manufacture and construction.  The individual bricks and the brick making facilities were examples of the technological development that took place during this period.  The bricks are also of scientific interest as they provide information on Victorian 19^th and 20^th Century brick making techniques.

The brick, pipe and tile works sites at Ballarat are also of local historical significance for its association with the post-World War 1 & II housing construction boom, because bricks, pipes and tiles were much in demand as a mass-produced, and relatively easy to use building material.  The Works also helped revolutionize aspects of the building industry in the post-war periods. These sites produced the bulk of Ballarat and districts’ brick, pipe and tile requirements during this period. The sites are also significant for their association with Ballarat as a centre of industrial activity at the time.  The quarries for the brick works were located at, in and around Ballarat and nearby in Creswick, Victoria.  

Clay Preparation

Clay holds on to moisture almost until firing is complete.  This moisture content can be as high as thirty per cent by weight.  As water evaporated from the clay, a process of crystallization occurs on the surface.  Before bricks are made, clay has to be extracted and prepared.  This process consists of the following steps.

Tempering

Clay can lack elasticity.  The process of Tempering is adding water to the clay to make it more workable and bring it to the required consistency. Too much or too little water added to the clay mix will decrease quality, though.  If there is too much alkaline material in the clay, or too much lime, the dried clay will crack.  Bricks made from this material will most likely melt when fired.  If the clay cannot take being sun-dried, then it will not make a good brick.

Disintegration and Crushing

An alternative to tempering is disintegration or weathering, this involves allowing clay to dry in the sun and absorb moisture from rain and dew. The repeated drying and moistening of clay will bring clay to a plasticity and workability appropriate for brick making.  Crushing will make the mixture more homogeneous. The crushed mix should be the consistency of flour.

Mixing

Mixing is done to make the clay homogeneous and smooth. There are different techniques that can be used to do this, including using animal power or letting humans mix the clay with their feet. Different admixtures such as coal or sawdust can be added to the clay for two beneficial reasons, to reduce cracking during drying and reduce fuel usage during firing.

Importance of Standardizing the Brickmaking Process

Bricks should have standard characteristics if they are to be used in construction. For example, builders or contractors may buy bricks from several different sources for one project: the bricks must be the same size or there will be problems matching the construction of different sections of the building.  Moreover, a standard brick size will allow a builder or contractor to more accurately determine how many bricks will be needed for a project.  A new brick maker therefore, should follow local standards, checking with other brick makers in the area or with local authorities or building and construction contractors.

Shrinkage

When determining the size of a mould for brick making a necessary consideration must be shrinkage.  Bricks will shrink when drying, so the mould size must be larger than the intended finished brick. Hand-made bricks were generally half an inch larger when moulded, then shrinkage happened during firing.  Modern dry-pressed bricks do not suffer the same fate.

Slop Moulding

In slop moulding, a wet clay mixture is used.  The mix is put into a rectangular form without a top or bottom.  A problem with this technique is that because the mix is so wet, the brick may deform under its own weight and the surface can be marked easily.

Sand Moulding

Sand moulding utilizes a drier clay mix, formed into a wedge and thrown into a mould. A bow cutter can be used to smooth the top of the brick, and the form is released because of a hinged bottom. Since the clay is drier, the brick can be moved with wooden palettes that can reduce the amount of surface marks. There are multiple benefits to using sand moulding instead of slop moulding, such as:

Less water is used, so there is less cracking and the bricks are stronger.  Fewer moulds are needed because they can be removed from the brick right away.  Work spaces are cleaner because of less splashing of the drier mix.  Workers stand up instead of squatting down, so they are more comfortable.  Bricks are more regular because they don't deform like slop moulded bricks, so a better product is produced therefore, better construction and more attractive buildings will be possible.  Slop moulded bricks can be imprinted with the brick maker's name, inside a "frog," on the flat side of the brick. This helps the brick dry and fire well, and is a good form of advertising.

Drying

Water was added during clay preparation to increase workability of the mixture, but in drying it is removed for several reasons.  First, there will be less cracking in fired bricks with less water content. Secondly, additional fuel is needed, beyond what is used for firing, to dry the bricks in the kiln.  Proper drying of bricks will have involved rotating the bricks for different exposures to ensure even drying rates.  For best results, drying should be done slowly.  This will help with more even drying.  Also, the best drying technique may change from location to location, so the brick makers must gain experience to determine the best way to dry bricks for each production process.  Sheds were constructed for this, usually from log or rough-hewn timber.  Sometimes cloth sides were installed to slow the airflow through the racks of drying bricks.  Other sheds were more substantial and were made of corrugated iron with heated air piped through them.

Clay bricks come in several basic types;

Hand-Made or Moulded

These are very costly to produce, as they are quite labour intensive.  It is only a specialist or boutique company that could or would make them today.  They are made by throwing a lump of clay into a mould and then cutting off any excess.  Sometimes machine-made bricks are treated to give them a rough or irregular appearance to imitate a hand-made brick.  These bricks are made from clay that has been mixed (pugged) with water.  This process is known as “tempering” to make the clay workable.  Too much or too little water changes the quality of the bricks.  These types of bricks were produced at many of the Ballarat brick works.  They came in two types;

A Hand-Made Brick from Selkirk, Allendale

 Machine Pressed Bricks

Semi-dry plastic.  The clay is mixed with up to 12% water depending on the clay.  The mix has to be sufficiently dry to fall into a mould using its own weight.  The clay is then formed under pressure into a frogged brick.  These bricks have smooth faces and sharp edges.  Dry pressed bricks have a cork-like appearance.

Stiff plastic.  The clay for these bricks has slightly higher water content (up to 17%).  The clay is forced under pressure from an auger into a mould.  The rough brick is then put into a second mould for a final pressing.  The texture of these bricks is rougher than a semi-plastic brick.  Wet-pressed bricks are very strong bricks, with a smoother, denser surface.

A different machine is needed to make wire-cut bricks. The water content is higher again (up to 25%).  The clay is forced using an auger into a conical tube tapering to a die.  The resulting rectangular sausage of clay is then cut into bricks by a wire or wires. Extruded bricks are usually smooth like semi-plastic bricks but can also have a pattern or texture applied.  The holes in modern extruded bricks reduce the amount of clay used, making them cheaper, lighter and help key in the mortar bed.

Facing bricks are (firsts) bricks that are intended to be visible, and are thus designed with some aesthetic aims in mind so that they are visually interesting or appealing to look at.  Many brick makers produce facing bricks, using a variety of techniques.  As the name implies, facing bricks are specifically designed to be used as facing, for example on the exterior of a wall, where the bricks will be seen. 

These bricks may lack the tensile strength of engineering bricks, which are used for structural brickwork, although facing bricks can be used for structural applications in some cases.  Face Bricks are also wire cut, but are of higher quality, with an added surface effect on one side that’s visible when laid.  They are specifically hard-burned for use in exposed wall surfaces and are able to withstand all kinds of weather and environmental conditions.

These bricks are designed to have a neat, even appearance.  They also tend to be made from materials which are interesting to look at, since they will comprise the actual face of a building, and will be the first thing people encounter when approaching.  While facing bricks can come in classic red, it's also possible to find in other colors.  Some bricks may have inclusions that add visual texture, and facing bricks can also be stamped with motifs or designs to make them more attractive.  Facing bricks can be extruded or moulded, and in some cases may be made by hand, although handmade bricks are quite expensive.  In some brickworks, special Draggers were employed to only handle face bricks.

An early Bradley and Craven brick-making machine

Commons

These bricks were lower quality bricks, without special finishes, making them cheaper, and were used where they’re not visible.  Also called hard bricks or building bricks and are made of clay.  They were mainly used for internal brickwork and have low compressive strength.   Commons were used in general work with no special attractive appearances. When these bricks were used in walls, they may have required plastering or rendering. The colour and surface texture of common bricks might vary greatly since no attention was paid to these aspects when they are fired. 

Machine Extruded Facing Bricks

First Class Bricks 

Second Class Bricks

Third Class Bricks  

Specification of First Class Bricks

Made of good clay earth that is free from saline deposits and are sand moulded.

Burnt thoroughly without being vitrified and have deep red, cherry and copper colour. 

Regular and uniform in shape and size with sharp and square edges and parallel faces.  

Must be homogeneous in texture and emit a clear ringing sound on being struck together.

Free from flaws, cracks, chips, stones and lime. 

Should not absorb water more than 20% of its own dry weight after 24 hours, immersion in cold water. 

Have a minimum crushing strength of 105 kg per sq. cm when tested according to the test.

Should not show appreciable sign of efflorescence (As the water evaporates, it leaves the salt behind, which forms a white, fluffy deposit, that can normally be brushed off. The resulting white deposits are referred to as "efflorescence") either in dry state or subsequent to soaking in water. 

Specification of Second Class Bricks 

They shall be well burnt or slightly over burnt.

They must give clear ringing sound when struck.

The may have slight irregularities in size, shape and colour.

They may have slight chips, flaws or surface crack but must be free from lime.

The minimum crushing strength of second-class brick should be 70 kg per sq cm.

Specification of Third Class Bricks 

These bricks are slightly under burnt or over burnt.

They are not uniform in shape, size and edges.

They shall not observe water more than 25% of their own dry weight after 24 hours, immersion in cold water.

Brick Colours

The naturally occurring minerals that are kiln fired to burn in their colour and strength determined the colour of clay bricks and tiles.  The composition of the raw materials as well as the firing process would cause each batch to differ.  The resultant colour variation was inherent in the process and part of the visual appeal of the bricks.  Usually those bricks contained the following ingredients:

Silica (sand) between 50% to 60% by weight

Alumina (clay) between 20% to 30% by weight

Lime between 2 to 5% by weight

Iron oxide up to 7% by weight

Magnesia – less than 1% by weight

Colour is not only determined by the colour of the clay and its chemical composition, but also:

The colour of the sand used in the moulding;

The moisture content before firing;

The fuel used to fire the kiln;

The volume of air during firing; and

The temperature in the kiln during firing.

Colour	Natural Colourants in Clay	Prepared Chemical Colourant
Black	Manganese and a large percentage of iron	Manganese umber (produces yellow, brown, purple, and black)
Blue/Green	Alkalies (i.e. Feldspar) Sometimes cobalt oxide	Iron chromite, black cupric oxide (Chrome flour)
Bright Red	High % of iron oxide	Red iron oxide (Haematite)
Brown	Large amount of lime	Brown iron oxide
Cream	Very low  iron	High lime content
Dark Blue/Purple	High iron oxide burnt at high temperature	Manganese umber (produces yellow, brown, purple, and black)
Red	Iron oxide	Red iron oxide (Haematite)
White	Kaolin clay, free from iron	High lime content
Yellow/Orange	Iron oxide and magnesia Sometimes lead antimonate	Manganese umber (produces yellow, brown, purple, and black)

All bricks are of an irregular size due to shrinkage in the kiln.  The mortar averages out these irregularities when the bricks are laid.  A standard is 20 bricks long and 20 bricks high to give an average of 9” long and 4’ high per brick.

Tuck-pointing is a technique used by Bricklayers to give a decorative finish to uneven brickwork and smooth out the appearance of imperfections on the brick.  Originally, hand-made bricks of uneven size were cut by hand to an even size so when laid, they presented an even finish.  This was an expensive and time-consuming process.  Tuck-pointing was an inexpensive way to replicate this process.   The original process was a line called a “Tuck”, drawn onto the mortar.  With later tuck-pointing, a white mortar, usually made from pipe clay, or kaolin was bonded to the mortar joint.  Note the contrasting mortar on the next page.

Brick Making Equipment

What did the equipment look like and how did it work?  Unfortunately, most of the brick making equipment in Ballarat was sold when the plants closed.  However, there is a display of some equipment in-situ at Brickmakers Park in Oakleigh Victoria that was used at Gambles Brickworks in East Oakleigh.  The brick press was of the Bradley and Craven type. William Craven and Richard Bradley were two young engineers who produced revolutionary machinery for automating the production of bricks.  By 1853 the company’s Stiff Plastic Brick making machines were being sold throughout the UK and to many oversees markets, including South Africa, Germany and Australia.  Local manufacturers like Austral Otis (below) made machines of a similar type.

Lancashire Boiler

The Lancashire boiler as the name implies, was developed in Lancashire England.  It seems to have been favoured by some of the brick makers who became large enough to mechanize their processes.  Unlike the single fire-tube Cornish boiler, the two fire-tubes of the Lancashire boiler allowed for alternate firing of each furnace for more efficient heating and lower smoke emissions.  Many had corrugated flues that allowed for heat expansion without straining the rivets on the boiler plated.

The boilers produced the steam to operate an engine, of  around  200 horsepower.  Many engines in the area were built by Thompson & Co Pty Ltd of Castlemaine.  The Thompson family of Castlemaine founded the engineering business Thompson and Company in 1875.  This enterprise lasted until 1925, when the last member of the Thomson family left, and new owners took over.  The works are now operated by Thompson’s, Kelly and Lewis Pty Ltd

These engines, as previously mentioned. were coupled with boilers.  This is a Roberts and Sons Boiler, of up to 225 horsepower, made in Bendigo.    They made “Lancashire” boilers, up to 28 feet in length and 7’6” wide.  They had solid walled flues and Galloway tubes.  They could cost up to £3,000.

1            The process was later powered by a powerful electric motor.  Originally, steam engines, powered by boilers were used.  The motor at Brickmakers Park was 50 horsepower that is real horsepower, not brake horsepower.

2                    Power was transmitted to a large pulley wheel attached to a drive shaft.

The drive shaft had a number of take-off wheels that had drive belts to operate other machinery.

4          There are two types of take-off wheels; each held a different type of belt.  The solid wheel had a wide belt, originally made of leather.  The slotted wheel held several belts.  These belts could be made from leather, rubber or later, some synthetic composites.  A flat leather belt was the easiest method to transmit power from the engine to the equipment.  They were replaced later by vee belts; that is why there are two types of wheels on the shaft. 

5          Leather belts are joined by cemented lap joints and large staples.  They run in the direction of the bottom edge of the splice going over the pulley first so the joint would close.  Tension on the belt was released when not in use.  Belts were constantly being lubricated and shortened to extend their useful life.  New clips were used each time.  Belts were lubricated to replace the oils lost in the tanning process.  Vee belts were a rubber/canvas mixture.

6          The large slotted wheel took the power and operated the brick press. 

7          The moulds on the brick press.

A Small Brick Press

Clay Pipes

Clay pipes were also a product of some of the brick companies in Ballarat, in particular Martins Stoneware Pipe.  Pipes came in several sizes and patterns from large diameter sewage pipes down to small diameter agricultural (aggie) pipes used for drainage.  Other pipes were T or Y branch, along with numerous other shapes.  As well as pipes, chimney pots and flue linings were also made.  These days, there is a market for reproduction pieces used to renovate period homes.  Many pipes have a bevelled end to fit the end of another pipe.

Salt glazing is a process used on earthenware products to produce a glossy coating.  There were two types of pipe; salt glazed pipe and salt glazed vitrified pipe, that is, a pipe that is non-porous after firing.  Salted water was thrown into the kiln towards the end of the firing process.  The resulting salt steam vapour coated the surface of the pipe.  The sodium in the salt reacts with steam to form hydrogen chloride and soda.  This is then converted to sodium silicate when it reacts with the silica in the clay. Vitrification is the process where firing causes the glaze to fuse, bonding crystalline grains to each other and the clay. Sometimes slip glazing was also done, usually on pipes that would be porous after firing.  These glazes were composed of manganese peroxide, feldspar or limestone.  Salt glazing of pipes fired in tunnel kilns was difficult.

Once the temperature in the kiln reached 1300C (1,700F) common salt was thrown in.  This would burn and decompose onto the pipes, with a small amount of water vapour,  Hydrochloric and soda would be produced forming a silicate fuse over the surface of the pipe.  Colour of salt glazes varied, depending on the amount of salt used and reminiscences on the walls of the kiln.

Glazing is done on the whole pipe, both internal and external.  This is done not only for porosity, but also to aid flow and reduce resistance through the pipes and also to resist any chemical action.  Next came the firing.  These days, smaller pipes are put inside larger ones to reduce space used in the kiln.  At the time of the Ballarat works, techniques were not sufficiently advanced to allow this.  Pipes were fired for anything up to 24 hours.

Clay pipes were restricted in length because of the gravity process.  Most were 3 feet long (just under 1 metre).  In the 1970s plastic pipes became popular and the days of clay pipes were numbered.  But under most cites of the world, hundreds, sometimes thousands of miles of clay pipes continue to give excellent service due to their non-corrosive coatings. 

Roofing Tiles

Making tiles at the time was dangerous, physical work demanding long hours and hard work for little return, except for volume production.  A single kiln with a single operator could take around two weeks to make a batch, and then set up ready for the next one.  If a fire went out, it was hard to re-start and a batch of tiles could be ruined.  Making tiles was a 24hour per day job and many batches of under fired tiles were made during this period when fires were not maintained and temperatures fell inside the kilns.  Although the workers were paid little and generally considered to be from a lower socio-economic group, the work needed skill and judgement and expert timing to be done properly.  A sole proprietor also needed to have the optimum number of firing cycles from each kiln to maximize output and profit.

Significant deposits of suitable shale/clay were exploited to manufacture bricks, tiles and pipes and the forests and woodlands that previously existed in such abundance were used to fire the kilns.  Little now remains in the area of this now vanished industry, and what does remain receives little, if any recognition.  Throughout Australia, historic brickworks sites generally exist now only through neglect. 

W.H.Rocke & Co first imported “Marseilles” tiles to Australia in 1886.  Originally grey in colour, they were soon being made in the now familiar red terra cotta used in what was called the “Queen Anne” style and after a slow start, became the most prolific roofing material used, first in Sydney, then later Melbourne and the rest of Australia.   Rocke was originally a furniture company, but after early imports dried up during the depression of the 1890s, they were taken over by Wunderlich who began making their own version.

Imports of tiles again dried up in 1915 and local makers looked to local engineers to make machinery to produce roofing tiles.  George Foster & Sons eventually produced the “Foster Pentagon Drum Machine’ capable of churning out 5,000 tiles a day.  It is likely that this is what was in use in Ballarat.  Wunderlich in New South Wales had pioneered the manufacture of the “Marseilles” tile in Australia and by the mid 1930s; they were making them in there millions.  Economies of scale meant that most of the smaller companies could not compete and were soon out of business.

Wunderlich was a family business started by Ernest, Julius and Frederick Wunderlich.  The firm grew into a highly successful company with branches in all Australian States and in Wellington, New Zealand. Wunderlich Ltd was the first Australian firm to introduce a 44-hour week without a pay reduction (1908) and in 1914 started a profit-sharing scheme for employees.

The type of tile they produced was a form of the “Marseilles” tile.  Until World War 1, most roofing tiles were imported, but when imports ceased, local makers filled the void.  First made in France in 1874, they became popular when the moulds and presses were sold as a package deal.  They became the first world standard for roofing tiles and it was this style that Eureka made.  Eureka were an exception, commencing tile production earlier than World War 1.  The “Marseilles” tiles can best be described as interlocking tiles with both the top and side locking into another tile.  This improves both wind and water protection and is also a good noise and heat insulator.  This type of tile is the most used today and is what most of us would regard as a standard roof tile. 

This is an example of a Marseilles tile made by The Eureka Terra Cotta and Tile Company Ltd.

Like bricks, roof tiles were made close to the source of clay.  Terracotta tiles have been used for millennia because of their ease of manufacture and durability.  Even though concrete tiles are now popular, terracotta retains its reputation as a better product.  Warranties for concrete tiles are around half as long as those for terracotta.

1.   The process of tile making began with the extraction of the clay.  Mixing several types of clay sometimes made tiles, or rock like material but the shale of Ballarat was ideal for roofing tiles.

2.   The mixed clay was stockpiled to age the material.

3.  The clay was then blended by an apron feeder, a series of steel pans attached to a chain drive that drew the crushed clay from the stockpile at a controlled speed and thickness.

4.   The blended clay was fed into a wet pan where it was extruded through a perforated   floor.

5.   The clay was then crushed through differential rollers set about 1.5 metres apart.

6.   The clay then went through a second set of rollers about .75 metres apart.

7.   The now powdered mixture was then fed into a store mixer.

8.   The clay was then extruded through a pug mill and cut into lengths to form batts.

9.   The batts were fed into a mechanical press that formed them into the required shape and size.

10. These “green” tiles were then stacked in a stillage. 

(A pallet or skid with a cage or sides or some form of support tailored to the material it is intended to carry.  Some designs are stackable.)

11.  Tiles were air-dried until the moisture content was significantly reduced.

12.  The downdraught kilns fired the tiles.

13.                The fired tiles were sorted and stacked.

Manually trimming excess clay from roofing tiles in the late 1940s at 

Evans Brothers Tile Works, Oakleigh

The Land Boom

Land speculation had been the driver of Victorian expansion.  The Federal Bank had been set up in 1882 to fund speculation on the new suburban sub-divisions.  In 1887 some of the banks began restricting lending.  Rentals had fallen because of oversupply in the market.  Borrowers began defaulting on their repayments.  By the early 1890s, the boom had subsided and many companies had gone under, followed by several banks and other financial institutions.  Unemployment was high and in a time of no government support, times became very hard.  Land prices crashed but no one had money to buy the land.

On the 30^th of January 1893, the Federal Bank of Australia Limited failed.  It wasn’t the first, but when it closed its doors, it was the end of the land boom in Victoria.  Following the gold rush of the 1850s, money was plentiful and the price of land increased spectacularly between 1880 and 1890, also in part fuelled by population growth.  The currency of the times was optimism and the skyline of Melbourne changed dramatically with the construction of many high-rise buildings.  Melbourne was now larger than many European cities.  Land speculation was a game that many people were playing.  Ballarat was not immune and had in fact benefited from land speculation.  New areas had sprung up and brick works built to service them. 

If you were in Victoria from about 4.5 million years ago, until as recently as 7,200 years ago, you would have seen hundreds of active volcanoes that were a part of Western Victoria’s landscape forming one of the World’s largest basalt plains; with more than 400 volcanoes mapped. 

This basalt plain stretches from Melbourne to Portland and is as wide as from Colac to Beaufort.  It consists mainly of vast open areas of grasslands, large, shallow lakes, small patches of woodland and stony rises from the once hot lava flows. The low peaks of dormant and extinct volcanoes dot the landscape. 

During pastoral settlement of the volcanic plains in the 19^th Century, this stone was used to construct hundreds of kilometres of dry-stone-walls and has become a characteristic feature of the Western District landscape.  These eruptions left vast, deep deposits of basalt, or bluestone as it is known.  From the 1830s, this olivine basalt was quarried in Melbourne as a building material from pits in what are now the Fitzroy Gardens and the suburbs of Carlton and Clifton Hill.  Later, quarries began in Williamstown, Footscray and Brunswick, as well as Coburg and Preston. 

The gold rush of the 1850s saw the population of Victoria explode as a wave of migration flooded the fledgling colony.  Many major buildings in Melbourne were made from this local bluestone, as well as warehouses, bridges, Streets, curbing and laneways.  For example, when the old Newmarket Sale yards were redeveloped, over 1.6 million bluestone “pitchers” were removed.  Councils used around 480,000, another 480,000 were re used on the site and 700,000 were sold for $2.50 each. 

Footscray quarries provided bluestone for the foundations of Parliament House, the old Treasury Building, Melbourne Town Hall, St Paul's Cathedral, the General Post Office, Flinders Street Station and the Argus offices at 365 Elizabeth Street.  Quarries in Clifton Hill, worked by convicts from the Collingwood Stockade in Carlton North, produced stone for the now closed but historic Pentridge Prison.

In part, because of the expense of transporting bluestone, bricks gradually came to replace stone as the preferred building material.  Hoffman Brick & Potteries Ltd in Brunswick, one of Melbourne's first brickworks (1870), was quickly followed by Butler's Brickworks (1879), Fritsch Holtzer & Co. (1880) and the Northcote Brick Co. (1882). The first brick clay pits were located in the inner suburbs, close to the areas of greatest building activity.

Brick Carting

One of the last jobs to be automated at brick works was that of brick carting.  In Melbourne, Brick Carters were specifically licensed by the State Government to operate from a particular brick works and only within a specific radius.  To be a good brick carter took experience, skill and judgement.  Safe load management was key.

Brick Carters would collect bricks from the works after they had been unloaded from the kiln and load them onto a waggon, or truck.  Originally, horses or bullocks, depending on the size of the load, drew wooden waggons.  Bricks are heavy, so loads could not be too large or the waggon or its axle could break during loading.  This has led to death and injury in the past when a load was not prepared carefully.  Later, trucks brought their own issues.

In 1911, an association, “The Master Brick Carters Association” was formed in New South Wales.  This became the national “Master Brick Carters Association” and continued from 1923 until 1949.  In earlier times, it was customary for a one-horse dray to carry 500 bricks.  The average brick weighs over 3kg, thus making the load of over 1500kg plus the weight of the cart and driver.  A healthy horse on level ground can do this with relative ease, but going up a hill puts a strain on it.  

Coming down a hill also creates problems because the metal shoes could slip on uneven ground.  On a fine day this is difficult, but on a wet day, or on the muddy roads around Ballarat at the time, carts became bogged, or would slip on the poor Roads and loads could shift.   A Brick Carter couldn’t win.  Councils needed broken bricks for the roads because heavy waggons damaged the roads.

It was a hard life for both man and horse but the pay for the time was good.  The average brick veneer home today contains 10,000 bricks, so at least 20 trips per house were needed because many houses in earlier times were solid brick and had higher ceilings, so more trips were necessary.

It was always said that March was the worst month for horses because the humidity made them uncomfortable and they would sweat profusely. 

On arrival at the kiln, the Brick Carter would come into the yard and pull up beside the kiln where the unloaders (setters) had stacked the bricks.  They would load the waggon by hand, two bricks at a time.  This usually took about one hour.  They delivered all over the district and could deliver three local loads per day.  Coal was also delivered from Ships at South Wharf to fire the kiln.  It was not until the 1960s that brown coal from the LaTrobe Valley was used.   The coal was unloaded onto platforms between the Hoffman kilns and a horse would lift the coal by pulling the bags up on a rope through a pulley wheel.  The coal would then be tipped into the firebox through vents in the roof to regulate the fire.  

On arrival at the delivery site, they would alight from the waggon and walk to the delivery point.  In those days, there were few made roads and because the soil was clay, in wet weather a waggon could easily get bogged.  The Brick Carter would then back the waggon down hill to a site to make sure that the horses could get out forward.  The mud sticking to the waggon made the load for the horses more difficult.

In the 1930s, motor transport became more common and by the end of World War II, there were few horses used by brick carters. 

Sometimes bricks would be unloaded from the kilns before they were properly cooled.  On Fridays, the bricks in some Hoffman kilns would sometimes catch up to the fire.  Today, bricks at the remaining super brick-works are now are loaded onto pallets and put onto trucks by forklift’ but forklifts were not introduced to some brick works until the 1960s.  Bricks were still loaded by hand. 

 Ceramic Transport Pty Ltd

With the consolidation of ownership of the Melbourne brick companies, it was only natural that similar arrangements occur with brick carting.  This company began as a wholly owned subsidiary of Brick and Pipe Industries.  They were located at 125 Springvale Road, at the corner of Smiths Road, opposite the Sandown Racecourse.

With the demise of the smaller brick companies, and the subsequent loss of work for the smaller brick carters, this company operated a fleet of vehicles to transport bricks. 

Kiln Types

Rather than describe the kilns in use at each of the brick works, it is probably better to generically cover the types of kilns they used, otherwise I would be repeating the same thing over and over.  Brick kilns first started in pits then walls were added.  These are known as “Clamps.” that were ventilated at the top, rather than have a chimney.  Building a tall chimney stack, allowed the fire to burn more efficiently by improving air flow or “draw” through the kiln.  The bricks produced by Clamps were not of high quality.   Variations of the different kilns have been invented over the years with varying degrees of efficiency and cost, but all kilns fall into one, or both, of two categories: Downdraught and Tunnel.

Clamp, Yallourn 1925

Intermittent

As the name implies, these are used to make individual batches one at a time.  Usually these kilns are either clamps or rectangular downdraught kilns that are sealed or “scoved” and the internal temperature increased according to a specific process or timetable. After the firing process is complete, both the kiln and bricks are cooled. The kiln is left to cool sufficiently before the bricks can be removed.  Due to the relative ease and cost of construction these are the kilns types were primarily used in one-man operations with low volume output.

The most basic is a clamp, which is a field kiln built from the green bricks that will be fired.  Clamps vary with size and shape and must be oriented with respect to wind direction. Once a clamp is laid out and constructed, it must be insulated.  Finally, the process of firing the clamp will take place in several steps. First, pre-heating, or water-smoking, will remove the water leftover from the drying process.  This process is still physical.  The second stage is firing, where the clay bricks will vitrify through a chemical process.  The temperature must remain constant at this stage for complete vitrification. Finally, for the cooling stage, the temperature must be slow and steady. A clamp may take two weeks to cool.

This shows the construction of a Rectangular Downdraught Kiln at the Gulson Brick Works in Goulburn in 1964.  Note the shape of the roof.  This is an example of an Intermittent Kiln.

Scotch Kiln

In the English-speaking world, the term for a kiln used to make a smaller supply of bricks is known as the Scotch  kiln.  It is also known as a Dutch Kiln or a Scove Kiln.  It is the type of kiln most commonly used in the manufacture of bricks. Scoving is the process of covering the kiln in wet clay to seal any openings.  A Scotch Kiln is often used to make the quantity of bricks needed on site for a Hoffman Kiln.  This can be around 400-500,000 bricks.  This was the case with Selkirks who used the final output of their Allendale kilns to make the bricks for their Hoffman Kiln in Ballarat.  A Scotch Kiln is a roughly rectangular building, open at the top, and having wide doorways at the ends. The sidewalls are built of old or poorly made bricks set in clay.  There are several openings called fire-holes, or " eyes," made of firebricks and fire clay, opposite one another. 

This is a picture of three Scotch kilns built at the State Brick Works at Wonthaggi.  As shown previously, please note the large stacks of wood for firing the kilns.  The dried raw bricks are arranged in the kilns so as to form flues connecting the fire-holes or eyes, and they are packed (crowded) in such a way to leave small spaces between the bricks from bottom to top and front to back and side to side through which the fire can find its way to and around every brick. A modification of the Scotch Kiln is sometimes to have openings in the floor like latticework, through which the heat ascends from arched furnaces underneath.

After the dried bricks are loaded into the kiln, the ends (or wickets) are built up, and plastered over with clay. At first the fires are kept low, simply to drive off the moisture.  After about three days the steam ceases to rise and the fires are allowed to burn up briskly.  The draught is regulated by partially stopping the fire-holes with clay, and by covering the top of the kiln with old bricks, boards, or earth, so as to keep in the heat.  It takes between 48 to 60 hours for the bricks to be sufficiently fired, and they will have shrunk to the appropriate size.  The fire-holes are then completely sealed with clay and all air excluded.  The kiln is then allowed to cool gradually.

Fuel

About a half-ton of soft coal is required for burning each 1000 bricks. The exact quantity depends upon the type of clay, quality of fuel, and the skill in setting the kiln.

Size Of Kiln

A convenient size for a Scotch kiln is about 60 feet by 11 feet internal dimensions, and 12 feet high. This will contain about 80,000 bricks. The fire-holes are 3 feet apart. These kilns are often made 12 feet wide, but 11 feet is enough to burn through properly.  A kiln takes on an average a week to burn, and, including the time required for crowding and emptying, it may be burnt about once every three weeks, or ten times in an average season. This will produce about 800,000 bricks that is about as many as would be turned out by two moulders in full work.  The bricks in the centre of the kiln are generally well burnt. Those at the bottom are likely to be very hard, some clinkered. Those at the top are often badly burnt, soft, and unfit for exterior work.

A Scotch Kiln is of a type known as an intermittent kiln.  A Hoffman Kiln is known as a continuous kiln.  In a continuous kiln bricks remain stationary and the fire moves through the kiln with assistance or help of a chimney or by a suction fan.  Most brick works in Victoria ended up using the “Hoffman” kilns of this type.

This photograph shows Robert Thomson and his son George at their works in Malvern between 1886–1888.  The kiln behind them is a Clamp that has been broken open after the firing of the bricks which can be seen still stacked inside.  The roof is open.  The timber stacked against the fence will be used to fire the next batch.  Wood of up to 4 feet in length was preferred.  The drying sheds can be seen at the rear.  The covered ramp was used to carry clay to the crusher to be milled.  The bricks stacked at the right of the kiln opening were used as a door or “wicket.”

Hoffman Kilns

There was no Mr Hoffman here in Australia.  The name came from the process they used to make bricks.  The company was started by Jenkin Collier, David MacKenzie and brothers Barry and William Owen who in 1870 established the Hoffman Patent Brick and Tile Company (later renamed the Hoffman Patent Steam Brick Company).  The name came from the Hoffman steam brick making process invented by Freidrich Hoffman in Stettin, Prussia, now in Germany.

Design drawings of a “Hoffman” kiln showing the layout

Interior of “Hoffman” kiln, showing the central tunnel that the fire moved along, with ventilation shafts above.  The chambers (left side) contain the bricks.

Unlike the Rectangular Downdraught Kilns common at the time, the Hoffman kiln, (now still the most universal type in use,) is a circular or oval burning fire passage with rooms around each side containing bricks to be fired.  A fire waggon moves around the passage to fire each room in turn.  The rooms are also interconnected by fire trace holes at floor level so the next room in turn is pre-heated by the hot gasses from the room where the bricks are being fired.  To be technical, it is a natural draught, multi-chamber transverse arch continuous permanent structure made from common bricks.

Fresh unfired ‘green’ bricks are put into a chamber and the entrance is bricked up and sealed using ash and clay as a mortar to keep out air from outside.  Hot air from cooling bricks in one chamber is used to dry and pre-heat bricks in the next.

Drying is done slowly to make sure that all the bricks dry uniformly and that distortion does not occur.  Once the bricks are dry then it is important to raise their temperature quickly to maintain reducing conditions in the chamber. Organic material in the clay helps with this process. 

Once the required temperature has been reached, covers over the openings in the roof are opened to allow ‘easing’ of bricks by allowing cold air into the chamber. After firing the bricks are cooled in the chamber before removal.  This process provides the heat for the drying process of the next batch. New ‘green bricks’ are then placed in the chamber and the process cycle starts again.  

Each cycle takes ten days to complete.  The kiln operates by natural draught with the buoyancy of the exhaust gases providing the driving force.  A central chimney is connected to a flue running the length of the chambers.  Each chamber is connected to the main flue with fresh air also available to regulate temperature.  Usually two fires move around on opposite sides moving from chamber to chamber in a continuous process of drying, pre-heating, firing and cooling.  This process is controlled by experienced brick makers, who operate a system of dampers and slides.

A central chimney is connected to a flue running the length of the chambers.  Each chamber is connected to the main flue with fresh air also available to regulate temperature.  Usually two fires move around on opposite sides moving from chamber to chamber in a continuous process of drying, pre-heating, firing and cooling.  This process is controlled by experienced brick makers, who operate a system of dampers and slides.

The fired bricks are allowed to cool and are removed from an outer door.  A fresh batch of bricks is then put into the room and allowed to dry before the fire trolley comes around to fire them.  Fires burn continuously and can use any fuel from wood to oil, coal and gas.  Hoffman kilns vary in size but are on average around five metres high, fifteen metres wide and up to one hundred and fifty metres long.

The Hoffman Brick Company was a leader in introducing pioneering brick making technology to Victoria to supply the building boom of the 1880s. Their products remain widespread throughout Melbourne. The derelict Hoffman Brickworks in Brunswick, Melbourne is now a site of considerable historical, technological and social significance in Australia.

The combination of the high output patent Hoffman continuous firing kilns and the patent Craven steam brick presses marked the first full industrialization of the brick making process in Australia, and may be a relatively early surviving example of brick making industrialization anywhere in the world.  

Over time, Hoffman kilns deteriorated due to use and damage.  When mechanization became the norm, forklifts moved the bricks in and out of the kilns.  Openings were enlarged and consequently damaged by forklifts hitting the walls and openings.  Repairs were ad-hoc and in some cases, a dedicated staff were employed to maintain the kilns. 

Ductwork also had to be kept clear needing excavations from under the floor.  Later repairs used sand and cement as this was easier to re-repair.  Movement of foundations and damage from forklifts led to the replacement of floors in the chambers.  Subsidence also caused cracking to walls. 

The production of domestic wares was finally phased out when their pottery closed in 1960. In the early 1930s the company introduced a line of slip-cast art pottery, labelled ‘Mel-rose Australian Ware’. These wares were sold by leading department stores like Myer and Mutual. It was a great success, and is said to have been the only thing that kept the company from going under during the Depression of the 1920s and 30s.

With the closure of the pit and other parts, the site had been effectively reduced to the central brick production area and remnants of the pottery production area. The buildings and plant of primary individual Significance are the three Hoffman kilns, the machinery associated with the brick pressing plant and the structure housing it.  Hoffman was purchased by Clifton Brick in 1959 but only continued production until 1962.

Tunnel Kiln

Few companies in Ballarat used a tunnel kiln.  Tunnel kilns were rare in Australia but were quite common in the United States, with over 600 being used.  The Commonwealth Brick works in Canberra had two, and one was used in Hobart.  Selkirks in Ballarat built a tunnel kiln in the early 1960s.  A tunnel kiln is a type known as a continuous flow kiln.  A tunnel kiln, as the name implies, is a tunnel of firebricks approximately 4’6” wide, with a 6’ high arched roof.  The firebricks are about 12’ Square and about 6” thick.  The tunnel itself can be up to 300’ long.   The floor of the kiln was fitted with rails along which a series of kiln cars progress.  Sand filled troughs were fitted along the sides of the rails and the space between the rails was used as a cooling and inspection chamber.  Furnace oil was used as a fuel.

At the entrance to the kiln, a double lock gate was installed to permit the entrance to be air tight.  An hydraulic ram pushed the last kiln car into the tunnel.  Because all the cars were connected, this meant that the first car with the fired tiles was pushed out the other end.  The kiln cars were made of metal and had four wheels.  They had metal strips to the side to fit with the side troughs to form a heat seal.  The kiln cars carried firebrick on the bottom to also form a heat seal and provide insulation between the kiln and rails and the metal undercarriage of the cars.  The top of the kiln cars were also covered with refractory material.

There were openings in the roof and sides of the firing zone.  This was a forced-draught system that allowed hot gasses to be directed to the pre-heating and drying zones.  It also removed waste gas from the feeding section.  Rails, trucks and transfer platforms were there to allow transfer from the tile making plant, the unloading section and back to the tile making plant.  Tiles were fed on a conveyor belt from the tile making section onto the kiln cars.  The setting station could raise the kiln cars to simplify the setting of tiles on the cars.  Loaded cars were either loaded into the kiln, or set aside for firing as time permitted, either at night or during quiet times. 

At intervals of about one hour, a car was pushed into the air lock chamber of the kiln.  After the outer door was closed, the green (unfired) tiles were pushed by the hydraulic pusher into the first zone.  This served as a drying zone and was fed with waste gasses.  The tiles were heated to higher temperatures as they progressed through the kiln.  They went through a pre-heating zone before going into the firing zone for a relatively short time.  After being fire, the tiles went through a cooling zone where they cooled sufficiently to be handled.  After firing, the tiles moved to the unloading zone where they were unloaded and stored awaiting loading onto trucks for delivery.  Sometimes they were loaded directly onto trucks.  The kiln cars were then ready for re-use.  

There were many advantages of a tunnel kiln

·         The number of staff needed was about 30% less than traditional brick making; for example, a kiln attendant could operate the oil firing as well as operating the kiln cars;

·         Fuel costs were significantly lower, being 1/3 less than coal fired kilns; oil was more expensive, but produced a more uniform heat with less rejects.  Oil was fed automatically and did not need a firer like those at a Hoffman kiln.  Thermal efficiency was much better than coal.  (In the day, this was 18,500 BTUs for oil and 13,500 to 14,500 BTUs for black coal.)

·         Heat was constant and did not fluctuate like other continuous kilns.

·         Maintenance and upkeep costs were lower because there was not the constant expansion and contraction experienced in Hoffman kilns.

·         Heat control means better firing and product uniformity.  

The Firing Area of a Tunnel Kiln Installed at the Colac Brickworks

Bricks being loaded into a Tunnel Kiln at the Colac Brick Works in the 1950s.  Note the metal skirt under the kiln car, the brick insulation under and over the bricks.  The outer gate is visible at the top of the picture.

Even though they were a source of local employment and building materials, living near a brick works had its own problems.  Complaints about soot falling on properties and washing on clothes lines were common.

Why did some brick makers continue to use downdraught kiln when most other brickworks used “Hoffman” kilns?  The answer is quality and control and colour matching.  They were well fired, free from cracks and distortion with sharp well-defined edges.  Some makers also made a variety of custom brick and tile to suit special jobs. 

Pipes were sometimes made in beehive kilns; an intermittent kiln, circular in plan, with fireboxes arranged around the circumference.  Pipes were stacked in the arched chamber to retain greater heat and create more durable pipes.  Although called “beehives” because of their distinctive shape, they look more like a yurt.  An old beehive kiln is still at the Bendigo Pottery.

It took one week to stack and arrange the bricks in a downdraught kiln.  It took another week to fire the bricks, consisting of three days to dry out the bricks and four days at 2000 degrees Celsius.  It took another week to unpack. 

The kilns had metal bracing to prevent them from falling apart during firing because of the heat expansion.  This sometimes consisted of pieces of old steel railway track buried vertically about one and a half metres into the ground at regular intervals around the kilns.  These posts went to roof height and metal strapping or bars were fixed horizontally around the kiln to brace the brickwork. 

The depression of the late 1920s and 1930s hit brick makers hard.  Production declined in line with falling sales.  It was not until the late 1930s that sales picked up again, however price controls introduced during the Second-World-War meant a constant battle with bureaucracy to keep brickworks financially viable.  These price controls lasted into the 1950s and improved pay and conditions for workers during this period meant further strain on the business.  Costs were continuing to rise and many other brick-works did not reopen after the war because of these increased costs and their inability to attract enough workers. 

Brick workers

 There are many different tasks undertaken at a brick works.  These depend on the type of work and the type of kiln.  Modern automated brick works have caused the loss of many of these occupations.  Selkirk came closest to full automation, having only quarrymen at the beginning of the process and unloaders at the other.  Until the 1970s, there were different employment categories for men, women and juniors.  Female rates were about 1/3 less than the rate for males and the junior rate was about 1/3 of the adult rate.  The following is a list of categories from the Department of Labour and Industry Pottery Board in September 1968.

These many skills were developed and employed at a brick, tile or pipe works.  As plant became larger and more sophisticated, so too was the division of labour.  Because most brick works are now almost fully automated.  These skills are no longer performed.  Sometimes when special orders for hand made bricks at one of the few surviving smaller specialist works comes in, some of the skills are still used.

Leading Hand

A leading hand that was a person who assumes any responsibility other than that customarily done by an ordinary employee usually controlled the manual work in the works.  They were usually men of long experience in most, if not all facets of brick making who would assume the responsibility of training all the other workers in their tasks.  An additional wage loading was paid to a Leading Hand.

Pitwork

Quarrymen, Shooters or Jumpermen worked in the pit and were also known as pitmen or breakers.  They also dug drains and sump-holes to keep the quarry face clear.  The Clay Getter-gets clay and a General Hand do anything else.  Pitmen worked by removing clay from a series of descending horizontal terraces, by digging, filling and wheeling away the clay.  Quarrying soft clay doesn’t need explosives but was done either by hand or mechanical excavator with continuous buckets.  Later dragline excavators or power shovels were used.  This does not leave loose material on the face as it leaves a smooth surface.

Setters

  

A Setter or Stacker does all the work inside the kilns.  Green bricks are soft and require careful handling during this process. Work is restricted only by the capacity of the brick machines.  Up to 3 setters could work in a kiln.  Bricks were brought to the door of the kiln and the setters would place them inside.  In some works, bricks arrived at the kiln in the form they were placed inside, so the setter just ran them in using an overhead carrier.  This was usually done in a Clamp, not other types of kiln.  A good Setter could place up to 70,000 bricks per day.  

For this rate to be achieved, a conveyor delivered the bricks to the Setter and could be adjusted to the height of the stack as it became progressively higher. 

Bricks are set in rows or “bolts.”  A good setter would arrange the ends of the bricks in the bolts so you could see from the front end of the stack, to the back.  This lets the air flow uninterrupted so the steam in the drying stage and the gasses in the firing stage can pass without staining the bricks.  Bricks are set as close to the roof as possible in an arched kiln to reduce the effects of hot air rising.  As the stack rises, the space between the bricks is reduced. 

Setters must keep the rows in line with the flues to ensure proper airflow.  Sometime a Setter will also build flues into the stacks to aid airflow.  Setters placed the bricks in rows called “blades.”  Each blade was made up of 1000 bricks, 50 long and 20 high.  Usually, to make a stack, two blades were made together and supported at heights of 5, 10 and 15 bricks high.

Supervision of Setters was essential to ensure the correct positioning of bricks in the kiln.  Even firing results in even bricks.  When the kiln is opened, the fired bricks were then sorted, as they were unloaded, usually into “firsts”, “seconds” and “clinkers.”

 Salary was dependent on the type of kiln.

Draggers

Unloading a kiln was another specialized job.  In larger companies, the job of loading and unloading was split between the Setters who loaded the bricks into the kiln and the Draggers who unloaded them.  This was not a popular job.  Sometimes the Draggers would have their trousers catch fire because of the heat from the bricks.  This sometimes happened on Fridays when the fire would catch up with the bricks.  To combat the effects of heat, Draggers would wear leather or rubber “mits” or “cots.”   Draggers consumed copious quantities of water, along with salt tablets.  It was hot, dirty work.  Draggers would load bricks onto a trolley, usually made of wood. 

Wheelers

Wheelers were the people who pushed the wooden barrows of bricks to the Setters or from the Draggers.  Generally, the rule of thumb was that the load should not exceed 50kg.  The centre of gravity of the load was the determinant.  Usually it did not go above the height of the wheelbarrow handle when the wheeler was standing upright.

Clay Pipes (Male)

Automatic Extruder Operator (i.e. a man operating extrusion, dressing and loading machinery)

Automatic Machine Loader and Unloader Assistant

Bitumen Jointer

Burner

Clayhole Men (Employer to provide tools)

Drawer (i.e. drawing inside kiln)

Drawer, other

Drying Room Attendant

Feeder of Pipe Machine

Greenware Sorter

Grinding Attendant

Hand Feeder of Raw or Burnt Clay into crusher or grinding pan

Junction Sticker and/or Knocker Operator

Junction Repairer of Burnt Ware

Kiln Labourer (i.e. a person whose duties comprise assisting a Placer, Drawer Setter or Tunnel Kiln Operator and/or the cleaning of fire holes and/or flues)

Machine Rigger

Mandril Operator

Man, carrying or wheeling into or out of kiln or to or away from kiln

Man, in charge of Pug or Mixer Machine

Man, operating or taking off machine making Siphons, D traps, inlets and the like

Man, taking off Pipe Machine

Man, sorting pipes

Man, working Pipe Flanging Machine

Man, boring or using explosives

Mouldmaker

Packer of goods into Railway Trucks

Pipe or bend dresser

Pipe Cutter of burnt ware

Presser

Setter (i.e. setting inside kiln)

Setter, other

Tunnel Kiln Operator

 Hand Dipper and/or Spray Operator

Kiln Placer and/or Unloader

Man, Hand Pressing dust tiles or working semi-automatic tile press

Slip House Attendant

Tunnel Kiln Operator

Dust Tile Making (Females)

Automatic Glazing Machine Attendant, including Feeder and/or Cranker

Boxer, including Tile Sorters

Hand Dipper and/or Spray Operator

Insulator Making (Males)

Burnt Ware Sorter

Caster

Clay Shaper

Driller and/or Grinder of unburn ware

Glazer

Greenware Sorter

Grinder of burnt ware required using calipers

Grinder of burnt ware other, 1^st six months’ experience

Jolly Hand and/or Profiler (including semi-automatic machines) 1^st six months’ experience

Jug Cutter

Kiln Car Placer and/or other Unloader

Male Machine Operator

Man, cementing and/or leading insulators

Man, sanding insulators

Mill Room Hand

Mould Maker

Packer

Presser (screw and lever type inclusive)

Presser (automatic)

Pug Mill Hand

Sagger Maker

Sagger Maker’s Assistant

Setter inside kiln

Thrower-1^st six months’ experience

            Thereafter

Tunnel Kiln Operator

Turner (required to use calipers) 1^st six months’ experience

            Thereafter

Turner other 1^st six months’ experience

            Thereafter

Assemblers

Bitumen Sprayer

Cleaners and Finishers

Glazer

Glazer’s Attendant

Glazing Machine Attendant (Automatic)

Jug Trimmer

Packer of Fired Ware

Machine Operator

Placer

Presser (screw or lever type)

Press Operator (Automatic)

Spray Operator

Test Room Hand

Turner (required to use calipers) 1^st six months’ experience

            Thereafter

Turner, other 1^st six months’ experience

            Thereafter

Dipper and/or Spray Operator

Jigger Hand (including semi-automatic machine)

Jolly Hand (including semi-automatic machine)

Mouldmaker

Placer and/or Drawer

Polisher of Glazed Ware

Slip House Attendant

Tunnel Kiln Operator

Cup and Caster Sponger

Dipper

Fixing handles and/or spouts

Gilder on glaze, Gilder, Bander, Stamper

Handle Maker

Handle Trimmer and/or Cutter

Jigger Hand (including semi-automatic machine)

Jolly Hand (including semi-automatic machine)

Packer/ Carton Packer

Polisher of glazed ware

Tower

Transferer-slide on

Caster-Sanitary Ware

Caster-other

Dipper and/or Spray Operator

Grader of Glazed Ware

Green Ware Inspector

Grinder of Burnt Ware

Hand Feeder of raw or burnt clay into crusher or grinding pan

Kiln Car Placer and/or Unloader and/or other Placer

Man, fixing handles or spouts

Mouldmaker  (blocks and cases)

Mouldmaker (other)

Packer

Slip House Attendant

Tunnel Kiln Operator

Turner, Jolly Hand and Jigger Hand (including semi automatic machine)

Caster-Sanitary Ware

Caster-other

Dipper and/or Spray Operator

Fixer of Handles or Spouts

Jug Trimmer

Packer

Turner, Jolly Hand and Jigger Hand (including semi automatic machine)

 Caster-(other)

Dipper and/or Spray Operator

Mouldmaker

Packer

Placer and/or Unloader

Slip House Attendant

Dipper and/or Spray Operator

Examiner and/or Finisher of Green Ware

Packer

Placer and/or Drawer

Explosives

One of the most productive areas often overlooked when reporting on brick making is the use of explosives to loosen the clay or shale.  In the end, it was explosives that caused the closure of a number of quarries close to populated areas.  Many Councils passed by-laws prohibiting the use of explosives. 

Using explosives for blasting is necessary for the recovery of clay or shale in many quarries. Blasting can cause noise and vibration that have an impact on the surrounding environment. Proper security of explosives and control of blasting practises is necessary to ensure the safety of employees and the protection of the community and environment from adverse effects.

Blasting will result in both ground and airborne vibration. The latter commonly includes both audible noise and vibration known as air blast, that causes objects to rattle and make noise. At the levels experienced from blasting associated with quarrying, structural damage to adjoining properties is unlikely to occur. In addition, the noise levels experienced from blasting at a quarry site, are unlikely to cause any hearing damage to anyone outside the worksite.  Duties include;

check blasting areas to make sure that safety regulations are met

cut channels under working faces

check borehole depths and ensure that they are clean

decide quantity of explosives required

insert detonators and charges into holes

connect and test or inspect the blasting circuit

fire charges

inspect the area to make sure all explosives have been detonated

check site safety after blasting (falling rock hazards, underground mine roof supports and harmful fumes, for example), and declare the area safe

Annoyance and discomfort from blasting can occur when noise startles individuals or when air blast or ground vibration causes vibration of windows or other items at a sensitive Site. The degree of annoyance will therefore be influenced by the level of air blast and vibration as well as factors such as the time of day, the frequency of occurrence and the sensitivity of individuals.

In most cases, a competent operator can reasonably predict the level of air blast and ground vibration.  However, the generation and transmission of air blast and ground vibration is affected by a number of factors including blast design, meteorology (particularly wind speed and direction and temperature inversions), topography, geology and soil water content.  It is possible that on some occasions the level of air blast and/or ground vibration will exceed the predicted levels.

These days, several people are involved when once, only a Shot Firer was used.  Shot firers assemble, position and detonate explosives to break or dislodge rock and soil or to demolish structures. 

Security of explosives was viewed somewhat flexibly in former days.  Some were stored in sheds secured with a bolt and padlock.  Sometimes, the explosives were stored in a dugout in the quarry with a loose-fitting door.  There were several thefts of explosives and detonators from often poorly secured stores.

Creswick Powder Magazine

Hand operated jumper bars were used in most pits until the introduction of electric rotary rock drills.  Explosives are now electrically fired, making the process safer.  This is now the only method used in pits today.  The use of a “cuddy” or safety shield is also mandatory.  The dangerous practise of “bulling”, or dropping explosives with the fuse lit into a hole by hand or using a tamping rod has now thankfully passed into history.

Following an explosion, “barring down”, or manually clearing loose clay or shale from the face was done.  An early safety device was to tie a rope around the waist of the worker in case of a collapse on the face.  Even hard-hats were not worn.  Later, safety belts and hard hats were made mandatory.   Softer clay was loosened by hand or mechanically.  Shale was then removed using a power shovel or excavator.

This image shows a quarry worker gently pushing an explosive charge down a hole bored in the rock. The reel next to his right foot contains a cable to permit detonation from a safe distance. The work is hot, dirty and dangerous.  As well as the obvious trauma hazard, this procedure (shot-blasting) can generate large concentrations of silica dust.

Silicosis is a serious and progressive disease. The term mixed dust fibrosis describes the pulmonary disorder caused by the inhalation of silica dust simultaneously with another non-fibrogenic dust.  Most dust particles in a brick works settled quickly as they were large and were stopped by the nasal passages.  Finer particles of less than.0002” were dangerous, but Government testing found no particles that exceeded the minimum standard.  To reduce dust inside the works, grinding was done outside where the wind dispersed the dust.  Good in summer but quite cold in winter.

Clay or shale was originally removed and broken up from the face by using a “spalling hammer.”  Spallers had a high incidence of eye-injury as eye protection in earlier times was not mandatory.  Small trolleys of up to one ton were filled by hand and pushed along narrow-gauge rails to either a “truck hole” where the contents were tipped into a skip that was then hauled up an inclined cable railway to the brick works.  The bottom of the pit may have had a network of rails.  Later, bulldozers were used to push the clay to the conveyor.  This is many times more efficient than by hand.

Some brick works had their crushers located in the clay pit where the crushed clay was then transported by a conveyor direct to the works.  This had the benefit of separating a very dusty part of the process, and allowing wind to disperse the dust within the pit.

Photographs courtesy of the Department of Environment and Primary Industries, Victoria. 

The Companies

The brick, pipe and tile works in one form or another were in existence for over 100 years.  During that period, some properties changed hands several times, and many were single brickmakers who only operated for a short period.  Although there were many quarries in the area, there were many more operators.  It is sometimes difficult to separate some of the articles published about them because the local newspapers seemed to use a common expression, namely “Ballarat brickworks” to describe any one of several different companies.  The following is an incomplete list of the operators in alphabetical order; it may not yet be complete.  There were many individuals and companies that operated in and around Ballarat.  Company records are scarce and almost no photographic evidence remains.  Alphabetically, these are the ones that operated.

Adair, Robert

  

Name	Robert Adair
Address	Peel Street (on the left when travelling north to south)
Occupation	Brickmaker
Born	County Armagh, Northern Ireland, 1833 (approx)
Parents	F.Joseph Adair, M. Jane Bailiff
Died	Ballarat, Wednesday, 21st February 1872, Aged 38
Burial	Ballarat, New Cemetery, Presbyterian “A”  Sec. 19 Grave 41 Unmarked
Occupation	Brickmaker
Period Active	C 1867 to 1872
Married	Louisa Mohoney or Manley , St Kilda, Victoria 20 Dec 1858 (1833 – 1924).  Louisa died at the age of 91
Children	9 children, Loisa Mohoney Adair (1858-1859) Caroline Jane Adair (1860-1860) Robert John Adair (1861-1950) Henry Joseph Adair (1862-1942) Alexander James Adair (1865-1955) Thomas Adair (1866-1955) Eliza Jane Lillian (Lily) Adair (1866-1953) George Adair (1970-1953) Louisa Adair (1872-1942)
Arrived	Melbourne, Victoria from Liverpool on “Sardinian” 19 Mar 1857

A reunion of some of Robert’s children in 1933

On the 26^th of February 1867, Robert purchased several parcels of adjoining land in Ballarat east.  They were Section 59, allotments 11,12,13 & 14.  Purchased for the price of 2-10/- each.  It is nor known if he was making bricks prior to this, but I would assume that he was, probably on a smaller allotment in the same area, as many others were doing.  

 He had been a successful brick maker at this location for several years before his early death at the age of 38 from pleurisy, which normally follows pneumonia.  His death certificate states that he had this condition for 8 days.  He died at the end of summer in 1872.  Brick makers, like miners, were exposed to extremely high levels of dust and as a result, were also subject to silicosis or “black lung.” 

On the day he died, the Ballarat “Courier” had the following report on the weather.  “The muggy and unhealthy weather we have experienced for the past ten days changed last night, and there is now a prospect of people being able to breathe again with something like comfort to themselves and safety to their lungs.  Last night about nine o’clock, the wind shifted to the south, after several pretty heavy showers of rain.  The warm weather has caused a great deal of sickness in Ballarat, but the change that has taken place it is probable those who have managed to pass through the trying ordeal will find themselves restored to health.  Children especially have been sufferers by the recent muggy weather.”  Sadly, too late for Robert.

Like so many Ballarat brick makers, Robert lies in an unmarked grave to the left of this marked grave.

Albion Brick and Tile Company

Little is known about this short-lived company operated in the gold mining town of Steiglitz. It was advertised in the “Steiglitz Miner” in 1893.  There was also an “Albion” gold mine working in the area.  Coincidence?

Allen, T

Name	Allen T
Address	18 ½ Nicholson Street Ballarat
Occupation	Brickmaker
Born
Parents
Died
Burial
Occupation	Brickmaker
Period Active	1894
Married
Children
Arrived
References	Webbs Ballarat Directory 1894 p64

Aspinall, Elijah

Name	Elijah Aspinall
Address	Peel Street Ballarat East
Occupation	Brickmaker
Born	1817, Bolton, Lancashire, England
Parents	Thomas and Elizabeth
Died	1877 Age 60
Burial
Occupation	Brick Maker
Period Active	1857 -1877
Married	Elizabeth Margaret Radcliffe, Bolton
Children	Elizabeth (Betsy) 1846-1914 Thomas  1851-1918 Maria 1859-1859 Sarah Ann 1862-1951
Arrived	In Melbourne, February 1855 on board the “Shalimar”

At a meeting of the Eastern Municipal Council on Tuesday the 8^th of July 1862, the Town Clerk read a letter “from Elijah Aspinall stating that he had seen in the Star that Mr John Hurst of Mopoke Gully had made application to have the present surveyed street (Peel Street) and that a very little deviation would take it over a better course, &c.  If such deviation should be agreed (contended the writer) all of the brick clay used by him and five or six other persons who followed the avocation of brick makers would be interfered with as well as some twenty ratepayers who had registered frontages on the new line of the street.  He protested on anything of the kind being done, as it would ruin him and the rest of the brick makers.  He was struck dumb with astonishment at the utter selfishness and ingratitude of Mr Hurst’s application.  As it was he who had showed him where to set down to brick making in 1857 and it was all nonsense for Mr Hurst to say that he had expended £500 in plant &c, when £10 would start any brick makers in the business, and his business could be removed to the line of Peel Street for £20.” 

In August 1864, Elijah advertised 5,000 bricks for sale at £1 per thousand.

On Friday, the 7^th of October 1864, Elijah was charged with “threatening behavior and obscene language.”  He was fined 20/- or 48 hours’ imprisonment.  Against whom is not known.

On Tuesday the 18^th of October 1864, C.W.Sherard, Commissioner for Crown Lands forwarded an application from Elijah for the granting of a license for brick making near Brougham Street, Ballarat East.  The application was referred to the Engineer.

On Friday the 15^th of February 1867, he was charged and convicted of failing to take out his license as a brick maker.  He was fined 40/- with costs.

Asquith, Robert

Name	Robert Asquith
Address	Havelock Street, Soldiers Hill, Ballarat (South to North, Left)
Born
Parents
Died
Burial
Occupation	Brickmaker
Period Active	1865/66 (Dicker)
Married
Children
Arrived

 Axtell, William

Name	William Axtell
Address	Carngham
Occupation	Cowkeeper, Brickmaker, Miner
Born	St Pancras, London, 1817
Parents	John Axtell and Catherine (Humphries)
Died	Beaufort, Victoria, 13th July 1894
Burial	Beaufort, Victoria, 15th July 1894
Occupation	Brickmaker
Period Active	1862-?
Married	Geelong, Victoria, to Ellenor Purcell 1835-1931
Children	Catherine b 1853 Mary Jane Elizabeth 1855-1941 Maria 1859-1863 Mary Elizabeth 1863? William Thomas 1864-1955 Emily Mary 1867-1955 Robert John 1869 Sarah Ann 1862 Ellen Therese 1873 1944 Jewell Victoria 1874-1953 Johann 1877-1879
Arrived	Melbourne, 1852 as unassisted migrant aboard the “Beulah”

Little is known of their movements for the next ten years, and it may be assumed that, like many others, he was a not too successful gold miner in the nearby fields in or near Ballarat.  They were living in Carngham, near Ballarat when, in 1862, William received permission to commence brick making.  Carngham is 27 kilometres west of Ballarat and about 30 kilometers from Buninyong.  The name Carngham is said to derive from the Wathawurrung people's word for house or hut.  In 1838 James and Thomas Baillie squatted there and adopted the Aboriginal place name for their property. The local clan was the Karrungum baluk or Carringum balug.

According to the census of 29 March 1857 there were 459 people in Carngham, 292 males and 167 females. This figure probably includes the population of Snake Valley. Until that time, the area had been farmland.  In 1854 there had been 58 people, 15 males and 13 females.  Carngham is 4 km north of Snake Valley and was a mining township, surveyed and proclaimed in 1855.  State School number 146 operated at Carngham from 1856 until 1911.  Today Carngham is little more than a few houses where the Snake Valley-Trawalla road crosses the road from Ballarat to Beaufort.  Snake Valley is still the larger settlement. Overlooking Carngham is the old cemetery but William isn’t there.  William died on the 13^th of July 1894 at the age of 72 in the nearby town of Beaufort and was buried there two days later on the 15^th of July 1894.

Bakeis Brothers

Name	Samuel Baikeis (The name was thought to have originated in or near Belgium.) It is more likely to be Baikie, from Kirkwall in Orkney.
Address	Inkerman, via Buninyong
Occupation	Brickmaker
Born	26th March 1820?
Parents	F. John Baikie, M, Isabella Muir
Died
Burial
Period Active	Until December 1857
Married
Children
Arrived
References