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.