Dixons Brickworks

Name	Dixons Brickworks
Also known as	Dicksons Brickyard
Address	Park Road, Oakleigh
Location	Dandenong Road, between Park Road and Marriott Street
Years of Operation	1891 to 1895

One of the things that made it difficult to find the right person was that; (a) in those days, he is recorded as being either Dixon or Dickson, and (b) there were several James Dixons around.  This James Dixon was the proprietor of the Oakleigh Hotel between 1885 and 1890.  He sold the hotel to Mrs M A Einsiedel and in 1891 he began Dixons Brickworks in Park Street Oakleigh.  

This was another  short-lived brick making venture in Oakleigh, lasting around four or five years.  James was also a builder and owned a number of other properties in and around Oakleigh.  Among them was a large block along Dandenong Road between Park Road and Lever Street extending back towards Scotchmans Creek.

It appears that James was also buying up properties, probably at a significant discount due to the recession in Melbourne at the time and the consequential collapse of real estate prices.  James owned housing blocks around Oakleigh as well as the large property where the brick works was located.

All trace of the brick works had disappeared and no pictures of the works were available by the time the first aerial photographs were taken in 1931.  All that remained were the tracks and roadways in the centre of the photograph.  It appears that the works are where the tennis courts are now.  Homes had been built over much of the other area of the works.  These tracks also disappeared when the football ground was built over them later.  In 1958, a swimming pool was built and the area where part of the works had been is now tennis courts.  I believe that the brick pit was near where the swimming pool is now because an ornamental lake that doubled as a swimming pool was opened there also.  

I suspect that this was a low volume works operating rectangular down draught kilns. 

Atlas Cement and Tile Company

Also known as	Atlas Products (Victoria) Pty Ltd
Address	496-500 Neerim Road Carnegie
Location	-37.88967. 145.06849
Years of Operation	1931 to 1936

Sun Cement Tiles Pty Ltd

Trading Name	Sun Cement Tiles Pty Ltd
Years of Operation	1935 to 1977
Company Number
Address	135 Neerim Road Carnegie from 1935 to 1957 30 Hargreaves Street Huntingdale from 1957 to 1976.
Council Lot No.
Coordinates
Current Use	Light Industrial

One of many cement tile manufacturers in the area, this company originally operated from Neerim Road in Carnegie from 1935 until 1957 before moving to 30 Hargreaves Street in Huntingdale where it operated, not far from Masonry Veneer, until the mid to late 1970s.  There were two brothers, Hopetoun Robert Whitelaw and Mervyn Murray Whitelaw.  Mervyn’s wife Valma and Hopetoun’s wife Rita were also partners in the business, as was Ian Ritchie, an accountant.

Starting at the height of the great depression, this company was one of several that began in Neerim Road, along with another couple on Dandenong Road Carnegie.  The high cost of producing terra cotta roofing tiles led to the establishment of these companies.  The premises in Hargreaves street were not large and the parners lived nearby.

Operating as a partnership until the move to Huntingdale, the partners formed a limited company in 1956.  They continued until 1976 when profits were so low as to make the company non viable.  They ceased trading in 1977.

I have written in detail about cement tiles on the Masonry Veneer post. So here, I will talk about using cement tiles.  They are cheaper than terra cotta as they are easier to make, but can be more difficult to install, especially along ridge-lines and valleys.  A special saw, requiring skill to use is needed to cut them properly.

Cement tiles will generally last between thirty to fifty years according to most sites on the web.  Something to bear in mind is that cement tiles continue to harden with age and become less porous.  This means that they will often last longer.  There are many houses in my area with cement tiles that are over sixty years old.  The Romans used concrete over two thousand years ago and it is still in good condition.  This is because concrete absorbs carbon from the atmosphere, making it stronger. 

Some problems have occurred as a result of the battens and flashing being incorrectly fitted.  Sometimes the battens need to be replaced before the tiles due to inferior timber being used, especially on houses built in the 1950s and 60s before treated timber became available.

Cement tiles will fade naturally with age as a result of air pollution and ultra violet rays.  Roof coating is usually only a cosmetic solution.  Re-coating is generally needed.  These coatings will eventually fade and peel and cannot be walked on.  Blending in replacement tiles creates a colour-matching problem. Concrete tiles do not absorb water although some clay tiles will with age.   Some salts will precipitate from the cement leaving a whitish discolouration but this does not affect their performance.  This “efflorescence” will dissipate over time.

Material used to make cement tiles are non toxic and water collected from a roof   is usually safe to drink, but deposits left by our various avian friends may affect this, so be careful.  If you look at a lot of terra cotta tile roofs, especially in Melbourne, lichens grow quite extensively.  These do not create a problem and add character to the roof.  They can easily be cleaned using proprietary cleaning products.  Sometimes they may clog drainage channels.

Moroney Brothers

Trading Name	Moroney Brothers
Years of Operation	1890 to 1897
Company Number
Address	Stamford Road Oakleigh
Council Lot No.	21, 22, 23
Coordinates	-37.892991, 145.101221
Current Use	Public Open Space Park & Commercial Warehousing

Michael and Thomas Moroney were born in Oakleigh to Patrick and Winifred (McMahon).   They lived in Stamford Road near brickworks but later became dairy farmers.

 

Victoria and its Metropolis Alexander Sutherland 1888

Their brick works was built on land they owned on the west side of Stamford Road and was later used by the Oakleigh Brick Company.  The land was purchased by Patrick Moroney in 1864 and sold to the Oakleigh Brick Company in 1903.  Nothing remains of their company but in the aerial photographs of the property, there was an old kiln on the Lever street side that I was told had made the bricks for the Hoffman kilns that were used until the works closed.  It is possible that this was the original kiln at the rear used by the former owners for smaller scale production.  To the North on the other side of Scotchmans Creek is the rise still known as Moroney’s Hill.  There is a reference to the Oakleigh Junction Brickworks being started by the Moroney Brothers; there appears to be some evidence for this but I cannot be sure. 

The Moroney Home "Fair Hill" on Moroney's Hill in Oakleigh

 

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Stamford Brick Company

Location -37.892991, 145.101221

 The Stamford Brick Company was the parent company of Glen Iris Bricks.  It was established on the 23^rd of November 1923. 

Company Profit for 1938

Stamford Brick Company No 004 106 399  was de -registered in the late 1970s.  By this time, there were three directors, Laurence and Arthur Phillips and Charles Chandler.

Eureka / Excelsior Brickworks

Trading Name	Eureka / Excelsior Brickworks
Years of Operation	1889
Company Number	440954F
Address	Dandenong Road to the South, Lever Street to the East and Park Road to the West, with the  Brick pit to the North.
Council Lot No.	21,22,23
Coordinates	-37.894075, 145.095255
Current Use	Eureka . Excelsior Brick Works were on the site  taken over by Evans Brothers Tile Works, now  the site of the Garry and Warren Smith car  dealerships.

Volume	Folio	Title Holder	From	To
1376	275075	Howard Tapley Clarton	27 Jul 1882	27 Apr 1885
1685	336948	John & Henry Goding	27 Apr 1885	10 Apr 1886
		Universal Permanent Building and Investment Society	10 Apr 1886	8 Nov 1887
1685	336948	Edwin Wade	8 Nov 1887	28 May 1898
1685	336948	Henry Ethell	28 May 1898	21 Jan 1908
3251	650102	Abraham Baxter & John McKell	21 Jan 1908	21 Jul 1921
		Oakleigh Brick Company	23 Jul 1921
9264	450	City of Oakleigh	20 Jan 1979

Another popular name for brick works.  Several companies called themselves “Eureka” as well as “Excelsior”.  Edwin operated under both names, which makes things a bit confusing because neither of them lasted long.  Described in their advertising as being “nearly opposite the Post Office”, the Eureka Brick Works were on the site taken over by Evans Brothers Tile Works.

John Wright (1858 to 1931) managed his father-in-law Edwin Andrew Wade's Excelsior Yard on the west side of Stamford Road.  Wade's daughter Frances Sale Wade, who was born at her parent's house on Broadwood Street in 1861, assisted her father and husband in the business.  They married in 1882.  Edwin must have been a poor businessmen because the Council was chasing outstanding rates from him in 1881 before he bought the site.  He owed 1 pound, but the Council settled for 12/6 after making an order for that amount.

John and Henry had been Firemen in Melbourne for many years and were obviously better firemen than brick makers.  They didn’t make a go of it and the property was taken over by the Universal Permanent Building and Investment Society.  They sold to Edwin Wade on the 8^th of December 1887.  Edwin operated as Eureka until the 28^th of May 1898 when he sold to Henry Ethell.

The following item appeared in the Oakleigh, Caulfield and Fern Tree Gully Times Saturday December 2nd 1905 in the Local News Column.  "A shocking fatal accident occurred about 4.15 on Wednesday afternoon. Mr. Charles E. Davis was driving a newly-wedded couple in his hansom to the railway station, and when at the junction of Dandenong and Neerim Roads saw young Jack Wade, who was learning to ride a bicycle, coming towards him. He was on his right side and gave the lad plenty of room, but just as he came abreast of the hansom he appeared to loose control of the machine and he fell with great force against the wheel of the vehicle. The cab was pulled up instantly, and Mr. D. J. Stein who was just behind and witnessed the occurrence, carried the unfortunate lad into Mr. Claney's house opposite and telephoned for the ambulance, but it was nearly 7 o'clock before it arrived. At an inquest held yesterday a verdict was returned of death from laceration of the brain and that no blame was attachable to anyone. The bereaved parents have been the recipients of numerous expressions of sympathy.”

If you want to see what type of bricks they made, look at the facade of the Mechanics Institute building in Oakleigh.  It appears that he was not crushing the shale as fine as many others because of the size and number od small pebbles and other gravel in the mix.

“Excelsior” was a popular name for early brick works in Victoria.  There was one in   Braybrook,  (cnr of Duke & Gloucester Sts) another in South Yarra, (between Melbourne High School and Chapel Street) and yet another in Frankston.  There appears to be no connection between them.  There were also “Excelsior” works in Sydney, as well as England and the United States.

Royal Commission 1914

Brick makers in Melbourne complained about the Co-operative Brick Company that was established in 1896.  It was alleged that the Co operative was responsible for high prices, poor quality, refusal to supply products and various other monopolistic practices.  In 1913, the Victorian Government established a Royal Commission that eventually determined that the Co-op was not a monopoly as some of the companies outside it were.  The First World War seems to have overshadowed the recommendations of the report and they appear not to have been implemented.  Despite complaints about the resulting price increases, the 1914 Royal Commission on the Brick Manufacturing Industry of Victoria found that the prices charged for Melbourne bricks were fair and the quality high.

A partial Government response was to attempt to introduce more competition by developing a State run brick works.  Land was purchased in Thornbury (now partly the site of the Aboriginal Advancement League) in 1908 and construction began.  The Co-operative then lowered their prices to 38 shillings per 1000 bricks.

This, and the controversy resulted in the project being stopped and the buildings being sold to Clifton Bricks.  Two years later, as part of the State Coal Mine at Wonthaggi, the State Brickworks was started.  Initially it was to provide bricks for the mine and to supply the railways.  It was also hoped that the cheap coal would produce competitively priced bricks for the Melbourne market.  Poor quality was alleged (supposedly by those associated with the Co-operative) and by 1912 the works were effectively closed.

By this time, a serious rival had emerged, in the Glen Iris Brick Tile and Terra Cotta Co started by disgruntled builders.  It had a site at Glen Iris but had to move to because the local Council and the Co-operative blocked access to the land.  An agreement was also entered into for a lease of Government land at Thornbury commencing in 1913 and to provide the State Government with bricks at a reduced price.