Saturday 13 July 2013

Reliance Tile Company Pty Ltd

Later Reliance Tiles Pty Ltd

Then the Wellburn Tiling Co.

Location  -37.894355, 145.107679

Whitton Street to the South, Parkinson Street to the East, Huntingdale Road to the West and Scotchmans Creek Catchment to the North.

Most people would never have heard of this small company that made roofing tiles from a plant in East Oakleigh partly on the site now occupied by the Monash University Regiment between Huntingdale Road, Parkinson and Whiton Streets.   This was the location of their pit and later a kiln.  The rest of the works was on the diagonally opposite corner.   



The Site, 1931

Originally known as “Reliance Tiles Pty Ltd”, they began operating at this site from the 21st of December 1921 making “Star” brand roofing tiles.   This Company was originally located in Jasper Road Bentleigh and owned the property until the 27th of August 1941.  

The Site, 1945

Roofing tiles had previously been made at their works in Brighton, but production there had ceased.  The company was originally owned by Thomas Ethell.  See more about him on another post on the Ethell family.  From then it was owned by James Henry Dee and Percy Victor Dunn, operating as the Wellburn Tiling Company, continuing through the Second World War until 1962 when some of the site was sold to the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works, (MMBW). 


The Site in 1968

The regiment, which is known as MONUR traces its origins back to 8 March 1966, when the Monash University Company was formed as a detachment of the Melbourne University Regiment (MUR).  On 23 February 1970 it ceased to be the Monash University Company of MUR, and became its own regiment. The Regiment recently celebrated its 40th birthday.  However on the 1st of January 2013 the Regiment again became a company sized unit within Melbourne University Regiment.
  

The Site In 1972



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