Oakleigh Brick Company

Trading Name	Oakleigh Brick Company also known as the "Oakleigh Brick and Tile Company"
Years of Operation	1912 too 1985
Company Number	C0006386N
Address	Stamford Road Oakleigh; to the East, Lever Street to  the West, Ferntree Gully Road to the South and  Scotchmans Creek to the North
Council Lot No.	21,22 &23
Coordinates	-37.893254, 145.100083
Current Use	Public Open Space (Brickmakers Park) and  Commercial Warehousing

The Oakleigh Brick Company followed others on the same site.  Previously there were the Excelsior Brick Works and the Eureka Brick Works.

The land began as a site for brick making on the 27th of April 1885 when Howard Tapley Clarton transferred ownership to John and Henry Goding.  Howard Tapley Clarton (1836 to 1902) was a man with either a casual acquaintance with the truth, or personal financial management.  Howard features prominently in the courts over an extended period.  As a Land Agent, he once applied to be allowed to pay one farthing in the pound on a 38,000 debt.  This was rejected.  Originally named Clarton Street, it was later renamed Stamford Road.  Was this as a result of Howard’s colourful business dealings?

On the 3^rd of February 1910, the local paper carried an article saying that “Owing to the want of coal, the Oakleigh brickworks, employing about 60 men, have been closed down for the present.   The works have been carried on with a reduced staff for the past five weeks.”

Oakleigh Brick Works Aerial View 1945

A revamped company began operating in 1917.  Mr H.F. Young of the Northcote Brick Company was appointed as the Managing Director.  Again in 1928, another restructure took place and a new group of shareholders took over the company.  These were;

Shareholders	No of Shares
Hoffman Brick and Potteries Ltd	4110
John Sinclair Walker	1350
Northcote Brick Company	4110
Basil Mead Ramsay	1350
New Northcote Brick Company Ltd	1386
Augustus Henry Holzer	2436
Charles Butler	1386
Barkly Brick Company	1386
Albert Henry Anglis	1386
Co-operative Brick Company Limited	2100
Henry Rooks	1350
City Brickworks Company Pty Ltd	2430

In May 1954, a double brick machine purchased from the now closed Horsham Brick Company was installed and began operating.

On the 6^th of February 1956, a clerk, Mr R Williamson with the company absconded after embezzling £72.2/-.  He had entered four false names onto the payroll and taken the money.   Police said that he was also wanted on other charges.

In March 1957 the company purchased over 44 acres, 3 Roods and 33 Perches of land at Bolinda Road Campbellfield, North of Melbourne. (Certificate of Title Volume 3458, folio 690484).  This land is now being used as a council tip near where the Ring Road is located and produced the clay that made the cream bricks so prevalent in the area on homes built in the late 1950 and 1960s.

In 1914, Mr Abraham Baxter of the Oakleigh Brickworks planned to build a theatre on a site in Atherton Road adjoining the Fire Station.

On March the 15^th 1938 at 4:30pm, John Terrill 58, Faceman and George French 55, Labourer were working 30 metres down at the bottom of the North-East face of the Oakleigh Brick Company quarry in Stamford Road Oakleigh.  A Faceman, as the name implies, worked the face of the quarry.  They were using a pneumatic drill to prepare the face for blasting.  No serious accidents had happened at the quarry in the past thirty years.

Witnesses working nearby in the quarry said that they heard a rumble and saw part of the face weighing about 15 tons fall from about 10 metres above the two men and crush them.  Their workmates scrambled furiously for about twenty minutes before the mutilated bodies of the two men were recovered.  Employees were emphatic that no blasting had been carried out before the rock fall.

Previously that day, Terrill had inspected the face from the top to make sure it was safe.  The quarry Foreman, Benjamin George Mathrick had also inspected the face and declared it safe.  Evidence would later emerge that a bullet hole had two weeks earlier been found on that face.  There had been no rain for some time and it was only after the rock fall that any faults were seen.  Newspapers around the country reported the accident with the size of the rock varying up to 100 tons and the quarry depth of over 150 feet.

A Coroners Enquiry was convened and the Coroner  (between 1936 and 1945) Mr Arthur Coyte Tingate heard evidence, assisted by Sergeant Gilbert, Victoria Police.  Mr Tingate was also the Coroner in the famous “Pyjama Girl” case.  Under the Mines Act, a jury was empanelled.  Fortunately for the process, an old miner was its Foreman and he proved crucial in the outcome.  Mr Stafford acted for the Oakleigh Brick Company Pty Ltd.  Mr Slater appeared for the widows.  Abraham Baxter was the Manager of the Brickworks that operated the quarry.

The bottom of the pit where the men had been working was angled upwards at 40 degrees, for about 10 metres then was near vertical to the top, giving the appearance of an overhang.  Thomas Platt, an Inspector with the Mines Department testified at the inquest that at the place where the rock had fallen he saw a slide and a fault line with an underlie of fifteen degrees.  He further testified that he periodically examined the quarry and that it had always been worked with reasonable care and that the fall was due to an unusual circumstance in the strata formation. 

Other witnesses said that although the area from where the rock fell was blocky ground, no greasy area was under the rock to cause it to fall. Blocky ground is jointed rock subjected to stress.  To the jury foreman, witnesses said that they had detected no cracks and a microscope would have been needed to see them and that any weaknesses would not have been found before the collapse without specialist equipment.

In a majority verdict, overruling the Coroner, the jury found that inadequate inspection was the reason.  The Coroner asked the jury to reconsider, but it would not.  It returned a finding of death by misadventure and that negligence on the part of the company in not making sufficient inspection of the ground before the accident to secure the safety of the workmen.

In 1946, staffing shortages were affecting brick makers across Australia.  In Victoria, soldiers returning from the Second World War were not willing to come back into the hard, dirty and dangerous environment of a brick works.  Before the war, there were 34 brick kilns in Melbourne, employing 1034 men.  After the war, there were only 30 kilns operating, employing 600 men.  There was a particular shortage in the roofing tile industry.  New homes were being built quickly, with weatherboard being used extensively.  Even though the homes were timber, they still used fired roof tiles.

Cream bricks were common in houses around Oakleigh in the 1950s and 1960s were made by the Oakleigh Brick Company and are made from red clay containing elevated amounts of lime and sulphur.  This type of clay was found in Campbelfield. and transported to the kilns where it was processed into what were known generically as “Clifton Creams.”  When the bricks are fired, they become creamy-yellow in color.

Although light-colored when first made, cream bricks are porous, causing them to absorb dirt and other pollutants; this tends to make houses made out of them darken as time passes. Once cream bricks absorb pollutants, they are difficult to clean, Initially, sandblasting was attempted; however, it not only proved to be ineffective, but damaged the bricks. Currently, chemical washes are accepted as the most effective method of cleaning cream bricks. 

In 1965, Clifton Brick Holdings had acquired a controlling interest in the Oakleigh Brick Company Pty Ltd.  Production ceased for a short time but normal operations resumed in August.  This increased output helped push the group’s production above 1 ½ million bricks per week.

In 1970, demand exceeded supply for machine pressed, wire cut face bricks, even with the plant operating at full capacity.  The Oakleigh Brick Company ceased production in the late 1970s.  The Company itself was not wound up until 1985.

Brickmakers Park now occupies the site of the former quarry at the Oakleigh Brick Company works.  It is a popular local amenity and has undergone extensive restoration and renovation.  Brick making machinery from the former Gambles brick works further along Ferntree Gully road has been installed there.  It makes an interesting, albeit forlorn diaplay.

New Gamble Brick and Quarrying Company Pty Ltd

Trading Name	Gamble Brick Company
Legal Name	New Gamble Brick and Quarrying Company Pty Ltd
Years of Operation	1912 to 1982
Company Number	C0005996X, C0039970K
Address	Ferntree Gully Road to the North, Carmichael Road  to the East, Dublin Street to the West and Gamble Street  to the South.
Council Lot No.
Coordinates	-37.89863,  145.111113
Current Use	Residential housing

Gambles, as they were known has the distinction of being the last of the large working brick works in Oakleigh.  Originally, they had a brick works in Brunswick and Preston.  Joseph Gamble had operated the East Brunswick and Junction Brickworks there until his death in 1896.  As well as the Oakleigh brickworks, they also operated another in the nearby suburb of Burwood.

Victoria and its Metropolis Alexander Sutherland 1888

 The story goes that in 1915, James Alexander Gamble (b 29^th August 1864, Fitzroy, Victoria, d 13^th May 1926) was driving his Buick car along Heads Gully Road (because the Head family lived in the hollow near what later became the brick works) traveling towards Fern Tree Gully when he saw an outcrop of exposed shale near a bridge across the old frog hollow that had caused the widening of the Road in 1860.  James took a sample back to Clifton Bricks and had it fired.  It produced a good quality red brick.

James sold his shares in Clifton Bricks and used the £9,500 along with a loan from the ES&A Bank to build his brickworks on former market garden land owned by Mr Hunt.  James started “The New Gamble Brick and Quarrying Company Limited” being “All that piece of land being part of Crown Portion 11 Parish of Mulgrave County of Bourke being the whole of the land more particularly described in Certificates of Title Volume 3796 Folio 106 and Volume 7918 Folio 017 together with all registered appurtenant and easements and subject to the encumbrances (if any) affecting the same and shown on the face on the said Certificate of Title.”

New Gamble Brick and Quarrying Company Aerial View 1931

 Aerial View 1945

 

New Gamble Brick and Quarrying Company Aerial View 1972

Selling shares also raised additional capital for construction that began around the time World War 1 began.  Labour shortage did not create a problem and work progressed quickly.  There was still a demand for bricks due to some other works closing and the rising cost of timber and concrete.  A Parliamentary Commission enquiry into the brick industry looked at the shortage of bricks in Melbourne and their importation from Sydney.  Price control was also an issue.  The enquiry concluded that prices were reasonable and quality was good. Testing of the clay at Gambles found it to be of excellent uniform quality.  Test firing in other “Hoffman” kilns proved the bricks to be high quality.  In fact, it was stated at the time that the clay was too good for brick making. 

Their sixteen chamber “Hoffman” kiln, shown above was built by Chandler Mc Indoe Brothers from bricks made on site, had a capacity of 200,000 bricks per week.  Unlike other “Hoffman” kilns, the coal was fed directly from a track way at Road level.  A 200 horsepower engine 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 Thompsons, Kelly and Lewis Pty Ltd

This was  coupled with 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.

Gambles nine foot diameter clay grinding pan and a double brick press, elevators, shafting and pulleys were all installed by William Anderson and Sons Pty Ltd.  A 130 foot high chimney attached to the kiln was built by Crowe Brothers: a tall chimney being necessary to create sufficient draught through the kiln.

Lancashire Boiler

On completion, the Shire of Mulgrave granted occupancy on condition that the Council had first call on brickbats.  (chips and broken pieces that could be used for fill and road making.)  James’ daughter Lily was given the honour of lighting the kiln.  Lily was indispensable because she spoke fluent Italian and gave instructions to the most of the workers who were Italian, because the Australian men had nearly all by then gone off to war.

In September 1925, one of these workers, Giusseppi Lo Piero was arrested and charged with being involved in a fight at the Oakleigh Railway Station.  He was found Not Guilty and discharged.  

The brick pit, now a park on the corner of Carmichael and Fern Tree Gully Roads, was unusual in that it began as a shaft that was driven 120 feet at an incline of 1-in-2.  The shaft was then widended and a working face 50 feet wide was created eventually widening to 100 feet.  A truck hauled the clay up rails to a hopper from where it was fed into a clay-grinding pan consisting of two rollers weighing 3 tons each.  This ground the clay to a powder with the consistency of flour. 

Elevators carried this powder to the brick-making machine where it is mixed with water until plastic, where it is subjected to high pressure and becomes a brick.  They are then loaded onto trucks and taken to the Hoffman Kiln where they are fired.  The process is almost entirely automated except for the digging of the clay and the loading of the finished bricks. 

 Brick Works 1972

 Demolition of Chimneys December 1982

In March 1955, Gambles went into liquidation.  The company continued and in 1959 conducted a revaluation of its assets.  Later that year, the company was bought-out by Brick Industries Ltd.

In the 12 months ending 31^st March 1975, Gambles made 10,950,153 and sold 10,869,715   For the 12 months ending 31^st March 1976, Gambles made 13,185.924 bricks and only had 55,200 still in stock the next year.  Gambles continued until 1982 when production ceased and the works were demolished.  The site was converted to warehousing and the brick pit, which had been used a a council waste tip was redeveloped into a public park.

Oakleigh Brickworks

Trading Name	Oakleigh Brickworks
Years of Operation	1892 to 1896
Company Number
Address	South side of Dandenong Road between Grant & Clyde Sts
Council Lot No.	32
Coordinates	-37.895752, 145.096629
Current Use	Residential housing

No, I have not got this one mixed up.  There is another post coming on the Oakleigh Brick Company, that operated on the other side of Dandenong Road where Brickmakers Park is now.  This one was begun by John Scott who operated what he called the Oakleigh Brickworks on Dandenong Road.  An MMBW map from the 1920s shows his brick pit located on the corner of Clyde Street and Dandenong Road.  Other references refer to his works as a “Brickyard” but his advertisements refer to it as a “Brickworks”.  He also refers to bricks from the kiln.  This sounds like a sole trader with a rectangular downdraft kiln. 

When driving along Dandenong Road towards Melbourne, there is a pronounced dip in the Road between Grant and Clyde Streets.  In the original sub-division, Tamar Grove ended at Scott’s Brick works.  When the pit was filled, Tamar Grove was extended to Dandenong Road. As previously mentioned, Jack Worn helped fill that pit in the 1930s with broken bricks from other brick works.  Homes were only permitted to be built over the old brick works because the pit was filled with broken bricks and other solid fill.

  

John Scott (1831-1891) was a brickmaker who had his brickpit and kilns on Dandenong Road between Grant Street and Clyde Street in Oakleigh under what is now Tamar Grove.  He operated on over 4 acres for several years. The land was part of an early sub division of Oakleigh and was designated as Section 32.  Usually these blocks were 5 acres in size, but several years of rate books describe it as being either four or four and one half acres.

According to the History compiled by T.G.Newton in the early 1950s, John made the bricks for several houses in Grant Street Oakleigh, (some of which remain, No’s 13 to 19) that were owned by several members of Thomas Wilkinson’s family.  They were known as “Wilkinsons Folly” and later “Goats Terrace.”  So named because of the property price collapse at the time.  Thomas Wilkinson had earlier begun his own brickworks behind his “Half Way House” hotel at Notting Hill.  Other histories state that Wilkinson made the bricks for the Grant Street properties, but my money is on John because Thomas was well out of the brick business by then, although he retained an interest in the company that had bought his brick works. 

John advertised in the local paper as Oakleigh Brickworks J Scott Proprietor Dandenong Road First Class Bricks at Kiln Trade Supplied.

It appears that John was the sole proprietor and brick maker and had just the one kiln.  If that is the case, it is a wonder that he made it to the age of sixty-two.  At this time, it is likely that he too operated a rectangular downdraught kiln.  These are very labour intensive and require tending twenty-four hours a day when bricks are being fired, to ensure that constant heat is maintained.

John died in Oakleigh in 1891 aged 62 and is buried in the Oakleigh cemetery 603 Presbyterian Section. He has no grave marker but has a commemorative brick in the centre of the memorial park.  According to Oakleigh Council minutes in 1927 and 28, a fence was needed to secure an abandoned brick pit near the intersection of Ferntree Gully and Dandenong Roads.  This was either his pit or that of the Oakleigh Junction Brick Works.  It is not known if he married or had children but the electoral rolls later record a William John Scott, Brick Carter of Dandenong Road. 

Aerial View of the Remnants of John Scotts Brickworks,1931

 

Masonry Veneer Pty Ltd

If you had a school photo taken anywhere during the fifties to the seventies, or maybe even the eighties, chances are that the wall in the background was made of masonry veneer.  If not you, then you would certainly have a parent or other family member who stood in front of a masonry veneer wall.  In the story of the brick makers of Oakleigh, it is easy to overlook a company like this because they don’t fit into the standard format of what we have come to know as brick works.  This story has been mainly about clay bricks, pipes and tiles, but we cannot forget cement tiles, for they were once quite numerous, and made in Oakleigh.

Following the end of World War 2, there was a sudden increase in the natural birth rate, or “baby boom”, in Victoria, as well as a massive increase in immigration. This led to a sharp rise in demand for school places, which the Department of Education, Victoria was struggling to meet. In addition the Department had lowered the age of school admission to five years in 1946, and since the War there had was a substantial increase in students continuing into high school.

A Fresh-Faced young Rameking back in the day in front of a Masonry Veneer wall

A report commissioned in 1949 by the director of the Department of Education, Sir Alan Hollick Ramsay estimated that local high school enrolments would increase by 20,000 students over the next decade.   Simultaneously, due to the Second World War, there was a shortage of building materials and labour in Victoria. In response to this crisis, pre-fabricated buildings were seen as a solution, with ex-military huts pressed into service along with imported buildings.  Several hundred aluminium classrooms manufactured by the Bristol Corporation were imported from England for use throughout the state until the program was ended in the mid-1950s.

Hollick recommended to the State Government that a standardized design for all state schools be adopted, as such a design would reduce the expense in commissioning architects to individually design each school, and would allow school construction to proceed more efficiently whilst using less building resources. In the early 1950s the Public Works Department developed the "Light Timber Construction" (or LTC) design.  A number of initial prototype schools were built in the LTC style, as it was tested and refined.

Much of the concrete veneer wall tiles used by the LTC program were made by “Masonry Veneer Pty Ltd” 1291 North Road Huntingdale, previously a timber yard.    The Company was incorporated on the 5^th of November 1959, (Company No 004 454 237).  Previous names MASONRY VENEER PTY LTD from 26-05-2000 to 04-08-2000 and MASONRY VENEER P/L from 01-11-1999 to 26-05-2000.  The company was begun by Mr Clifford James Mahon, an ex-Australian navy (1943-1946) man who made concrete air-raid shelters prior to joining.  Cliff was stationed at HMAS Lonsdale, a shore based station in Port Melbourne. 

In the early 1950s, output of clay bricks was lagging behind demand. One cause of this was a shortage of experienced labor. Kilns closed during the war were not re-opening because the workers were not returning to this hard, dirty industry.  Employment prospects for these workers had improved and prospects for the cement brick industry were also improved by the limitations of the available clay deposits in the Oakleigh area.  The clay in the Oakleigh brick-making area would not meet demand and the kilns later depended on shale from elsewhere for the clay type of brick. Improvements in techniques helped cement brick and tile making to hold a greater share of the market.

Masonry veneer walls consist of a single non-structural external layer of masonry work, typically cement-brick, backed by an air space. The innermost element is usually structural, and may consist of wood or metal framing or masonry.  Walls constructed in this manner have several advantages over solid masonry, some of which are shared with the Cavity Wall (where inner and outer layers are both structural) while others are distinct to masonry veneer walls:

Unlike clay bricks that are fired in a kiln, concrete bricks set and can be made in greater volume, taking much less time to make.  Basic Concrete used to make stone veneer is a mixture of:

  1. Cement Type 1 or Type 2 Portland Cement

  2. Coarse Aggregate (lightweight Preferably)

  3. Fine Aggregate (sand)

  4. Water

The aggregate comprises 60% to 75% concrete stone mixture, and cement paste (the combination of cement, water, and possibly pozzolan) makes up the difference and clean water at the right temperature. 

The water to cement ratio of a concrete mix is extremely important to creating a high quality concrete mix.  Concrete gets hard as a result of the chemical reaction between cement and water that is known as "hydration".   Any water that is not consumed by the hydration process will eventually leave the concrete as it cures, resulting in small pores that will reduce the strength of the concrete. Cured concrete can be as much as 6% air because too much water was added.

A mix with too much water will experience more shrinkage as the excess water leaves, resulting in internal cracks and external fractures.   The airspace functions as a drainage plane, allowing any water that has penetrated the veneer to drain to the bottom of the cavity, where it encounters flashing (weatherproofing) and is directed to the outside through weep holes

The structural framing or masonry backup can be erected first to allow the rest of the building structure to be completed concurrently with the outer veneer, rather than waiting for the entire wall structure to be completed before proceeding with the roof and upper floors.  A masonry veneer wall can be completed in a shorter time with less labor than a solid masonry wall thus saving in cost.  The weight of a veneer wall can be significantly less than solid masonry, resulting in economies in foundations and structural support.

Because masonry veneer is non-structural, it must be tied back to the building structure to prevent movement under loads.  This is usually accomplished by a means that does not interrupt the drainage plane and does not compromise cavity insulation. Brick ties are used for this purpose, and may take the form of corrugated metal straps nailed or screwed to the structural framing, or as wire extensions to horizontal joint reinforcement in a fully masonry veneer system. Additionally, the veneer is vertically self-supporting over relatively short heights, so shelf angles or relieving supports must be provided, typically at floor edges, to transfer the weight of the veneer to the building structure. In multi-story buildings, such a system is called a curtain wall.

Masonry veneers can be made of any concrete, manufactured clay, artificial stone or natural stone product. Typically, masonry refers to individual units that are placed in a mortar bed, making a distinction with panelized products.  If a masonry veneer is used over a framed wall, sheathing and a moisture barrier are required to assure the weather tightness of the assembly.

Buildings with masonry veneer walls can be better at cooling down during extended periods of hot weather than framed and sided buildings - making conditions more comfortable at night during summer.

Some early examples, still in existence, are the South Oakleigh Primary School, formerly Huntingdale High School in Farm Road and Windsor Avenue Oakleigh South.  Built in 1958 it is an example of the refinement of the LTC design. Parts of Clarinda Primary School and Sussex Heights Primary School. At the end of the 1950s the standardized design had been used for seventeen new schools. 

In the early 1950s, masonry veneer was also advertised as a house cladding.  The leading builder of the time,  A.V. Jennings advertised masonry veneer for homes in Canberra during the 1950s.  Schools in Canberra were also built using masonry veneer. 

These LTC schools were built by a number of contractors: a contract in 1954 for £5,984 gave Swan Hill High School two LTC classrooms, the same year Heywood Consolidated School had six LTC classrooms erected for £9,800.  Electrical works were in separate contracts, the 1955 contract for the electrical installation in six LTC classrooms at Heidelberg West State School was £375.   The LTC design was used for more than general classrooms: the 1957 contract for the erection of a trade annex in light timber construction and masonry veneer at Bairnsdale Technical School was for £16,478; in 1962 a modified Domestic Arts wing was built at Mortlake High School in light timber construction with a concrete veneer for £23,713. 

Light Timber Construction schools, as the name suggests, were constructed using wooden framing. External walls were clad either in timber, sheet metal, brick, or cement tile  (the most common option). Rooftops were always clad with corrugated iron, and supported by zig-zag steel rafters. LTC schools were always built as a single storey. Where multiple school wings were required, buildings were often linked with an iron covered-way in the case of primary schools, or a link corridor in the case of high schools.

LTC school buildings always consist of long central corridors, from which classrooms are constructed on either side. Typically, there will be a continuous span of classrooms on one side, whilst intervals will be left between clusters of classrooms on the alternate side, to allow for additional exits and natural light to penetrate the corridor. Occasionally, classrooms will only be constructed on a single side. Corridors typically have low ceilings (approximately 3 metres), and capacity for bags (primary schools) or lockers (high schools) to be stored along the walls. A long series of windows provides visual contact with classrooms.

Classrooms are typically entered through sliding doors from the corridor. The ceilings of classrooms are elevated above the corridor, and tilt away so that one row of windows connects the room with the corridor, whilst another row above provides natural light from outside. On the external side, either two or three horizontal rows of wooden-framed windows provide light from outside. LTC classrooms were typically furnished in a uniform way, with built-in blackboards and cupboards at the front of the room, fluorescent lighting from above, and venetian blinds on the windows. Most classrooms had polished wooden floorboards, which were later carpeted-over.

Whilst the LTC design provided government with a cheap and efficient method for rapidly constructing schools, the design meant that buildings were hot in summer and cold in winter due to poor insulation, and were often viewed as being "industrial" and "sterile" fitting a "factory model" of schooling.  As methods of education has changed, modern educational specialists criticize the design of long corridors and rows of classrooms as being old-fashioned and uninspiring. 

Until 1976, hundreds of similar LTC school buildings were constructed by the Department of Education across Victoria. Many with masonry veneer panels.  Whilst small design variations existed on different sites, and between Primary and secondary schools, the overall construction method and aesthetic remained the same.  Eventually, the demand for school places fell and the Department of Education resumed constructing state schools with individual designs.

Owing to their cheap construction, and funding cuts that were made to education in the 1980s and 1990s, many LTC school buildings aged poorly, becoming shabby and run-down, becoming extremely expensive to maintain, as they were built to solve a temporary surge in school numbers and not intended to last more than 20 years.  In 2006 the Australian Education Union said that the cost simply replacing LTC schools was $1.9 billion, and would take 30 years at the then rates of Government spending.  The State Government's Victorian Schools Plan released in 2006 committed to rebuild or renew all government schools by 2017, leading to many LTC school buildings being demolished or substantially renovated and modified. Consequently, intact examples of this school design in original condition are becoming very rare.

The Masonry Veneer factory in North road has seen better days.  The walls are gradually being defaced by graffiti and from what I can see from the nearby overpass, the rusted roof appears to be in poor condition.  It is however, the only remaining, intact brick making factory still in Oakleigh.