Glen Iris Bricks

Trading Name	Glen Iris Bricks
Business Name	The Glen Iris Brick Tile and Terra Cotta Co Pty Ltd
Years of Operation	1912 to 1972
Company Number	ACN 004 063 843
Address	Stamford Road to the West and Estelle Street to the North
Council Lot No.
Coordinates	-37.892991, 145.101221
Current Use	Public Open Space, Sporting ground

 The Glen Iris Brick Tile and Terra Cotta Co Pty Ltd began as a response to the Co-operative by disgruntled builders.  Office holders were Benjamin J Davis Chairman, Isaac Fenton Secretary and Charles Stacey Manager.  The company commenced on the Oakleigh site on the 5^th of March 1912. 

In April 1912, an agreement was entered into by the Glen Iris Brick and Tile Company for the lease on a portion of land at Thornbury acquired by the late Sir Thomas Bent for the purpose of brickmaking.  Under the provisions of the contract, the company had control of of land comprising about 30 acres in all, for a long term.  They agreed to pay £150 per annum and to supply the brick requirements of the Government for seven years at 31/- per thousand. 

As the Government had only paid £5,000 for the whole area, the deal with the company, (bricks will be supplied for all state works at 7/- per thousand less than the current going rate) was regarded by the authorities as highly satisfactory.  No selling price to the public was included in the agreement.  This would depend on circumstances, but the  company has undertaken not to enter into any agreement with any other manufacturer of bricks in order to fix prices or regulate output.  It proposes to conduct its business on independent lines.

Everything was in readiness on the part of the company to start operations at once.  Up-to-date equipment had been manufactured for them by Messrs Anderson and Sons of Richmond who made milling machines and the power would be supplied by a suction gas engine manufactured by Kynoch Ltd of Birmingham, a munitions company still in existence, that had taken over the Forward Engineering Co that made the gas engines.  A Hoffman kiln and two drying chambers were to be erected and it was intended that everything in connection with the whole plant would be the most modern design.

It was the intention of the company at first to establish works in the neighbourhood of Glen Iris, hence the name.  Some 40 acres of land was secured at Camberwell on one side of Gardiners Creek and 6 acres in Malvern on the other side of the creek.  The intention of the company, the capital of which consists of 20,000 shares of £1 each was to build its brick making plant at the site of the clay deposit in Camberwell and to erect its kiln on the Malvern site.

Advertizement 1946

It was further proposed to cut up a portion of the area for workmen’s homes and to enable the land to be purchased on reasonable terms.  Anticipating that there would be no obstacles to an enterprise that it was thought would give employment to about 150 men.  The brick making plant intended for Camberwell be placed on the Thornbury land was ordered and the suction gas engine was arranged for.

The Camberwell Council however took action that prevented the company from starting operations there and caused the directors to turn their eyes in other directions.  A by-law of the council provides that neither quarrying nor blasting shall be allowed in certain areas.  This particular land came within the prescribed area and the council decided that the by-law should be enforced in regard to it.

Councillor Rooks, was a member of the Camberwell Council, and also a shareholder in the City Brick Company.  During his term of office as Mayor of Camberwell, he had a by-law framed stopping quarrying in the municipality, and thereby gave a monopoly to the Camberwell and Auburn Brick Companies, that were operating in the city at the time and not affected by the new bv-law.  Blocked on both sides, the company put its case before the Premier.

The brickworks from inside the pit.  

Photo 's courtesy of H.Gobbi, Taking its Place: a History of Oakleigh 

An offer was made to him that if he gave his support, the company would supply bricks at a reduced cost to the Government.  The Premier, Mr Murray suggested the erection of a kiln on the Thornbury Estate.   At a saving of 11/- per 1,000 during a term of 21 years (the length of time the company was to hold its lease), the Government would save £5,250 per annum, and £110,250 over the whole term.  He estimated that the income to the Government for the lease of the land, at £12.10/ per acre in 21 years would have been £3,150.

They were located on St Georges Rd in Thornbury, bordered by Miller St to the North, Watt St to the South and the railway line to the East. The site had first been promoted as a possible state brickworks in 1905 by then Victorian Premier, Sir Thomas Bent. Bent was unimpressed with the control that Melbourne’s major brickworks exorcised over the price of bricks and was keen to force a better deal for the government. 

The government had bought 30 acres of land in Thornbury in December 1904.  Bent was aiming to bluff the brick company cartel to lower their prices from 40 shillings per thousand.  After going as far as clearing the land and putting up buildings on the site, the brick companies conceded and dropped their price to 38 shillings per thousand. Development of the site was halted. However the fallout would continue to reverberate.

In mid 1905 the Auditor General had queried the purchase of the land, as the funds had been set aside for the construction and maintenance of workers’ homes in the area. Bent was later found to have misled parliament when he stated that the land had been bought for this purpose.  This, along with some other questionable land dealings, would bring about the downfall of Bent’s government in 1908.

By 1912 the land, which had been the subject of rumour ever since the brickworks were originally planned, had been subdivided and looked set to be sold.  Then, suddenly, in April of that year, the Murray Government, who had launched the original royal commission in opposition in 1905, announced that they had let a large part of the land in Thornbury to the Glen Iris Brick Company.

They began operations in 1912, and initially endured hostile press from the Leader and protests by local residents. But they stayed, and the government, having signed a long-term contract with the state government to supply bricks for thirty-one shillings per thousand, were thrilled with the situation. 

Glen Iris Brickworks, Oakleigh 1931

Though the brickworks has long ceased operation, the land remained crown until the late 1970’s when the Northcote Council suggested that the Aborigines Advancement League pursue developing the land for a new home.  Pastor Sir Douglas Nicholls had originally founded the League in 1958 with headquarters in Cunningham St.  In 1981 the Victorian Government ceded two acres of the old quarry land to the league as well as contributing part of the $750,000 needed to fund the building. This was the first freehold land granted to indigenous people in Victoria. The rest of the site is now devoted to the Sir Douglas Nicholls Oval and some housing blocks.

Under the terms of the original 1912 agreement, should the company combine with any other works or break any clause of the undertaking, the whole of the company's works would revert to the Crown.  The kilns anyway, would go to the Government at the end of 21 years.  It was believed that pressure had been brought to bear on the councils to stop the erection of the Glen Iris Company’s works

Brickworks 1945

The Glen Iris Company has been making bricks on a small scale for about two months.  As some difficulty in obtaining bricks for the kiln that was intended to build at Camberwell was feared, a small hand plant and kiln was placed on land at Oakleigh in order that requirements could be met.  These bricks would now be used at Thornbury.   As part of the deal, a railway siding was built to help transport their bricks.  There is a conspiracy theory that the State Brick Works was allowed to fail because of the Government deal with Glen Iris Brick Co and their ability to get bricks to Wonthaggi more cheaply than the locally made product.

Originally their capacity was four million bricks per-annum but in 1936, new kilns were opened increasing capacity by eight million bricks to twelve million per annum. Boral Bricks purchased Glen Iris in 1970.  By 1975 they had acquired almost 95% of the shares in the company.  Takeover was completed on the 4^th of February 1976 when Glen Iris Consolidated Industries was de-listed by the Australian Stock Exchange.  Nothing remains on site except the remains of the brick pit that was filled as a Council garbage dump and is now a sports ground.

Glen Iris Brickworks, Stamford Road, Oakleigh 1968

 

Glen Iris Brickworks, Stamford Road, Oakleigh 1972