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

Evans Brothers

Trading Name	Evans Brothers Pty Ltd
Years of Operation	1912 to 1972 (Sold Oakleigh site in 1969)
Company Number	C38607G
Address	Park Road Oakleigh
Council Lot No.
Coordinates	-37.894075, 145.095255
Current Use	Motor Car Trader and various commercial activities

Evans Brothers Tile Works;  Photo coutesy of H Gobbi, Taking its Place: a History of Oakleigh , p 185

Evans Brothers Pty. Ltd. tile works were located on the North side of Dandenong Road between Park Road and Lever Street on the site of the former “Excelsior” and “Eureka” Brickworks.  They dug their clay from the pit beside them.  The site occupied an area of approximately 2 hectares , to the East of the Oakleigh Hotel, Oakleigh, Victoria.    

 

Evans Brothers Tile Works Site 1931

The whole of the site formerly occupied by the tile works has since been converted into a car sales and service yard as well as various other smaller commercial operations to the rear.  A large car park now occupies the site at the rear and the remains of the demolished kilns lie covered in grass along the Scotchmans Creek.  Little trace now remains of the sites previous use as a brick works following its sale to the current occupiers.

The Group consisted of:

Evans Brothers Holdings Limited (The Parent Company) and,

Evans Brothers (Oakleigh) Pty Ltd

The Oakleigh Company made roof tiles and textured bricks.

Evans Brothers (Roof Tiling) Pty Ltd

This arm of the group did the installation of tiles.

Ceramic Brick and Tiles Pottery Pty Ltd

This branch operated the quarries and eventually took over management of their new Scoresby plant that succeeded Oakleigh. Following its sale to Gary and Warren Smith Motors in 1969.

Evans Brothers Pty Ltd

This Company was responsible for sales and marketing the products.

They first appear in the Sands and Mac Dougall Directory as tile makers in the 1911 edition.  The company was operating first in South Melbourne before moving to Oakleigh and taking over the old “Eureka” site.  In 1957, the following list of Directors was lodged with the Companies Office;

Reginald Charles Evans 15 Stewart Street, Brighton (1937) Married Murial Esme

John Cecil Evans (Cremated 28 Jun 1983)

Robert Winston Evans of Elwood (married Rae Marie Owen)

William Boyd Evans  born Albert Park Vic 22 Mar 1908 (NOK Marjorie)

Richard Reginald Bath

Victor Edward Arnold.  (Also the Company Secretary)

Evans Robert Winston born Elsternwick Vic 27 Jul 1924  (Mother Winifred

18 Martin St Elsternwick)

Clay came originally quarried from the pit nearby and brought to the works by conveyor.  It was milled while still moist and went through a pugmill where it emerged as a continuous mass onto a roller table where it was cut into blocks  These blocks were transported into a double sided press where they were shaped into tiles.  Excess water was expelled during pressing.  At the Evans Tile Works, the green tiles moved from the press onto a conveyor belt where they were trimmed by hand of any surplus clay.  

Tiles were then put onto trays and moved to the drying racks where they dried for up to two weeks.  They then moved to the drying floor where they were placed on racks to dry.  After drying, they were packed onto a barrow that was placed onto a lift and lowered to where they were loaded into the kiln.  The dried tiles were fired in stages at up to 1100C.  After cooling, the fired tiles were removed, graded and stored ready for shipping. Drying was done upstairs where the heat from the kiln was ducted to aid the process.  They dried for up to two weeks. 

Evans Brothers Site 1945

In November 1957, the company increased its share capital by the addition of 95,000 shares valued at £1 each, beyond the registered capital of £5,000.  Clay was being transported from a site at Tally-Ho, further north to Oakleigh.  In 1961-62, work commenced on building a modern production facility in Scoresby, Victoria.  Oakleigh was becoming old and in need of updating.

In 1965, a second tunnel kiln was built at the new plant and the Oakleigh tile works suffered their first financial year loss.  Evans Bros. had purchased additional land at Scoresby, bringing their total holding there to 68 acres.  A new automated tile works had then been built at Scoresby and the Oakleigh Tile Works closed in June 1967 as it had become uneconomic.  The land on which it stood was sold to Garry and Warren Smith, car dealers in 1969.  A Directors report for Evans Bros. of 1971 says; “The Directors advise that this Company did not transact any business during the year ended 31^st March 1971, and no profit or loss was made for the period.”

All trace of their brick works is now long gone, but there is still a building on site the car people call “The Evans Building”.  Warren Smith recalls the demolition of the chimney being televised and the duplex homes on Dandenong road being demolished to make way for the Car Yard.  Weatherboard workers homes in Park Road were also sold and relocated.

Aerial view of Evans Brothers Tile Works in 1931 showing the works at the top with the claypit in the centre, Dandenong Road at an angle at the bottom and Park Road to the right.

Evans Brothers Tile Works 1968

The works has expanded considerably since the 1931 photo.  Note the row of brick duplex cottages along Dandenong Road. Weatherboard homes on the west of Park Road are also visible.

Evans Brothers Tile Works, Oakleigh, Late 1940s

As seen here, bricks  and tiles had there rough edges trimmed.  Here, workers use their hands. but often a wire called a “bow” was used on the soft clay in the moulds.

Tile Cleaning, Evans Brothers 1947

"In February 1969, Garry and Warren Smith became a General Motors-Holden Dealer and took over the long established business of Williams & Sons in Atherton Rd, Oakleigh. One of the conditions upon appointment by GMH involved closing various used car outlets. Prior to taking on the GMH franchise 8.5 acres was acquired in Dandenong Rd, Oakleigh from Evans Brothers. Previously the property was a brickworks and quarry"

Demolition of Evans Brothers Chimney 1969

Australian Plaster Industries Pty Ltd

Trading Name	Australian Plaster Industries Pty Ltd
Years of Operation	(Incorporated 1926) in Oakleigh 1939 to 1985
Company Number
Address	73 Westminster Street Oakleigh, Bounded  by the Railway Line to the South,   Westminster Street to the East and  Downing Street to the West.  Factories  on Regent Street are to the North.
Council Lot No.
Coordinates	-37.904251,145.094279
Current Use	Vacant land covered with concrete floor

Bricks are only part of the story in Oakleigh.  The bricks may go on the outside, but plaster goes on the inside.  Usually wood goes in between.  The Foresters Arms Hotel is a remnant of Oakleigh’s long vanished timber industry.  As late as the 1890’s wood cutting competitions were still being held around town, but I digress.  I am including this story in memory of my Uncle Frank, a plasterer.

Going back a few years, the “Australian Gypsum and Whiting Company” was started in South Australia by William Robert Innes, after whom the town of Inneston and nearby National Park was named.   He began mining gypsum at Marion Bay to make plaster.  This is where the raw material came from for making plaster in Westminster Street.  After manufacturing ceased in Oakleigh, plaster making began at Marion Bay.

Old Gypsum Mine, Marion S.A.

Plaster can be made into fibrous plaster, plaster board, plaster moulds for pottery and cornice mouldings as well as other plaster decorations.  Some of you of mature years will have had a plaster mould taken when the Dentist fitted you for your false teeth.  It’s manufacture is a simple three stage process.

Plaster has been used by us for over 4000 years as a building material and is made by heating gypsum to 150 °C.  This first stage of the process is called “calcination” and removes water from the gypsum.  Before it is dried, the gypsum is dried and ground to a fine powder in a heated mill.  Next it went into large steel kettles where it was heated by gas burners and stirred with paddles to prevent overheating.  The powder was then put into hoppers to cool the plaster.  It was ground again and stored for further processing.

At this point it was known as stucco or Plaster of Paris, so called because the original deposit of gypsum was found under Montmatre in Paris.  It is one of the reasons why there are no high rise buildings there.  The ground underneath Paris is honeycombed with tunnels, not all from mining gypsum.  Some of the plaster was sold at this point as “Plaster of Paris.”

Rehydration is the second stage where the dried plaster powder is mixed with water and any other additives until it forms a thick paste, or slurry.   Some of the additives, such as starch are there to help the plaster bond with the cardboard, others are as thickeners.

The third stage was setting or simply to allow the plaster to dry by evaporation.  It comes out of moulds easily.  Some is dried to 250°C for around an hour.  Plaster board was put onto drying racks where they were stored until needed.

As well as its brick works, Oakleigh was also home to many industries associated with the building industry.  One of these was Australian Plaster Industries Pty Ltd.  Approaching what is left of one of the Oakleigh sites is like seeing the jagged remains of a broken tooth.  Sitting forlorn on a pad of windswept concrete, it waits for action on its future.

The site occupies an area of approximately 2 hectares on the Southern side of the railway line to Dandenong to the East of the Oakleigh Railway Station, Oakleigh, Victoria.    The majority of the site formerly occupied by the plaster works has been demolished with the chimney, part of the boiler house and one hopper remaining.  The remains have not been well secured and have suffered from vandalism and graffiti. 

The concrete floors and some foundation walls remain to show the sites previous use as a brickworks following demolition of the sheds after sale to the current occupiers.  A part demolition of the remaining chimney in 2009 has caused controversy and some adverse publicity.

Aerial View of the Now Demolished Plaster Works

The site was originally occupied by the Turbine Pulmotor Company Pty Ltd until 1930.  Even back in the 1920s, Oakleigh had advanced technology being manufactured there.  The Turbine Pulmotor Company Pty Ltd manufactured the “Pulmotor”, an artificial respirator machine that pumped either air or oxygen into and out of a person through a mask or tracheal tube.  Pressure was regulated to prevent damage.  It was believed successful in helping stillborn babies to breathe.  Short for Pulmonary Motor, it was a portable device patented in 1907.  Reports of its success were mixed. 

Next came the Concrete Specialty Company, then Australian Plaster Industries.  Boral Australian Gypsum were the last occupants of the site.

The plant was built c.1946-48 as part of a new plasterboard factory for Australian Plaster Industries Ltd. The briquette fired water-tube boiler supplied steam for drying plasterboard until it was made redundant by direct firing in 1970. The saw tooth roof brick building with steel window and roof trusses housed the main board production machine as well as warehouse facilities. It was built in two stages, being doubled in size in 1958.

The factory is significant because in 1948 it was the first factory in Victoria where plaster board was manufactured on an industrial scale. Plaster board changed the way buildings were constructed by greatly improving the efficiency of construction through the use of large sheets of pre-made plaster board for lining internal walls. This board was erected dry, eliminating delays caused by waiting for older style lathe-and-plaster to set; it was also more amenable to mass production and easier to install than fibrous plaster sheets. The plant was strategically important to Australia's construction industry during a time of intensive building activity and material shortages following World War Two. 

Aerial View 1945

The chimney has an aesthetic significance as a tall prominent feature of the local landscape associated with the industrial use of the area. It is easily visible from the surrounding area and from the adjacent railway line. Once common, large brick chimneys associated with industry are few in number and increasingly threatened with demolition. Many have been truncated, or had their associated boiler house, kiln, or factory which used the heat or steam, demolished.

Classified: 06/07/2009

The boiler house and chimney are a rare example of a large and relatively intact boiler house and chimney associated with the post war period of Victoria's industrialization. The location of the boiler house adjacent to the Gippsland railway line is historically significant as it was specifically located next to the railway line to enable the delivery of fuel for the boiler. 

The use of briquettes as a fuel has largely been replaced by natural gas, but the closure of the boiler house in 1970 resulted in this plant not undergoing the conversion to natural gas which has occurred at most other boiler installations. As a result of this, it is one of the few surviving examples of a large briquette fired water-tube boiler and associated brick chimney in a manufacturing context in Melbourne. It provides direct evidence of the Latrobe Valley briquette industry which underpinned Victoria's industrial development from the 1930s until the 1960s, during which time production of briquettes more than trebled. The use of SECV produced briquettes provided a cost effective fuel for industry and reduced Victoria's reliance on black coal from NSW.

1950 Expansion

The boiler house was once a large and relatively intact example of an industrial boiler complex. The boiler, chimney, briquette overhead storage bunker, briquette elevating conveyor, mechanical stoker, and steam driven feed pump are all still present, but theft, exposure and vandalism has taken its toll.  Anything of value has been stolen and the exterior cladding is now long-gone.  The four-drum water-tube boiler, built to a design by John Thompson & Co., Wolverhampton, was probably made at their local West Footscray factory.  It is a rare surviving example of a once-common form of industrial plant: water-tube boilers played a key role in Victoria's twentieth century manufacturing development; they produced high volumes of steam with greater efficiency than conventional fire-tube boilers; they were also inherently safer.

The plant also pre-dates the construction of fully unattended automatic boilers and is illustrative of the work practices of the period which required a full-time boiler attendant. Boilers were installed by industry to generate steam for use in manufacturing processes, driving steam engines which in turn drove line shafting, or for steam engines and turbines driving electricity generators. The advent of the SECV in the 1920s and the development of the state power grid saw a reduction in factories generating their own power. By the 1940s the main reason for building a new boiler house was to provide process steam. This boiler house provided steam for heating at the drying stage of plasterboard production.

If you want a more detailed report on the property, click on the link below.

http://planningschemes.dpcd.vic.gov.au/Shared/ats.nsf/(attachmentopen)/F354076768B7812FCA2577DD000AAD5B/$File/exh+C97+Support+Doc+-+Heritage+Citation+HO91+Westminster+St+19-17.pdf?OpenElement

Baxter and Mc Kell

Trading Name	Baxter and McKell
Years of Operation	1910 to 1918
Company Number
Address	Stamford Road Oakleigh
Council Lot No.	21,22 and 23
Coordinates	-37.893254, 145.100083
Current Use	Public open space (Brickmakers Park) & Commercial warehousing

 Baxter and Mc Kell acquired the brick works in Stamford Road from Henry Ethell.  John McKell had previously been the Manager of the South Yarra Brickworks, formerly the Excelsior brickworks  in Chapel Street.

In 1908, Abraham Felix Baxter and John McKell bought the brickworks in Stamford road then owned by Henry Ethell.  It appears that there had been an earlier family involvement, from Abraham (Snr) from around 1903.  At the time, three rectangular downdraught kilns operated there with capacities to accommodate from 40,000 to 60,000 bricks each.  Henry did not enjoy a long retirement because he died at his home in Clyde Street Oakleigh the following year.

Abraham Felix Baxter was born in Prahran, Melbourne on the 22^nd of July 1880 to Abraham and Harriett (nee Booth).  went to Wesley College in Melbourne and began his career with his father in the family firm of Baxter and Saddler.  Between 1901 and 1906, Abraham worked as a Railway Contractor with his brother George in Western Australia before returning to Victoria to join his brother Charles breeding horses near Ballarat.  Abraham Snr bought out Henry Ethell outright in 1908 and Abraham Jnr joined him there in 1910.  His father later made him their Manager.  (George supplied one and a half million railway sleepers to South Africa in 1901.)

On the 17^th of March, 1918, Abraham married Margaret Mary Chapman (1883 to 1968).  They had two sons, James Abraham b 1909, Robert Walker b 1914 and one daughter Thelma Jean b 1919.

The year 1918, continued to be a busy one for Abraham; the Oakleigh Brick Company was sold to the Co-operative Brick Company and Abraham (Jnr) stayed on as Manager.  John McKell continued to manage the South Yarra Brick Company.    See the post for the Oakleigh Brick Company for more information on his later work.  Abraham died at his home in Clyde Street Oakleigh on the 22^nd of October 1945.

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.