It only lasted a short time and is a complex story. This is a precis and a more informative story on one of my other blogs soon. Wonthaggi’s history really
started in 1909 as a socialist experiment by a conservative government, with a
need for Victoria to sever its dependence on NSW for its supply of black
coal. It then
became a casualty of the vicissitudes of governments of the times. In April 1910, the Victorian State
Government refused to issue any further coal mining leases as a prelude to
assuming control of coal production across the State.
In 1901, the State Government of Victoria
decided to build a State-owned and operated coal mine at Wonthaggi, an area
near the east coast. Extensive black
coal deposits had been discovered throughout the region. Later, as part of the State Coal Mine at Wonthaggi, the
State Brickworks was started. The General Manager of the
coalmine, Mr George Broome decided that the expanding works should produce its
own bricks. Despite howls of protest
from the private sector, the Minister of Mines Mr McBride gave approval in mid
1910 for the establishment of a State brick works at the town.
A convenient size for a Scotch kiln is about
60 feet by 11 feet internal dimensions, and 12 feet high. This will contain
about 80,000 bricks. The fire-holes are 3 feet apart. These kilns are often
made 12 feet wide, but 11 feet is enough to burn through properly. The existing pictures of the Wonthaggi kiln
show a much smaller kiln (or kilns) of around 20 to 30,000 bricks per firing.
The Scotch Kiln is known as an intermittent
kiln. Later, a Hoffman kiln was
built. The Hoffman kiln is known as a
continuous type where bricks remain stationary and the fire moves
through the kiln with assistance or help of a chimney or by a suction
fan. Most brick works in Victoria used the “Hoffman” kilns of this
type. The major benefit to brick
makers was that bricks could be made up to 80% cheaper in a Hoffman kiln.
The SCM Machar wire-cutting machine could
make up to 12,000 bricks per week.
These bricks were made to build a Hoffman kiln. A second wire cutting machine was also
installed. This Hoffman kiln required
400,000 bricks in its construction.
Poor quality of the bricks was
alleged (supposedly by those associated with the Co-operative) and by 1912 the
works were effectively closed. It was
reported in the Sydney
Morning Herald on the 21st of February 2012 that the
total cost of construction was £9995/12/2, working expenses to date £5720/7/3;
revenue to date £1000/13/3. “The number
of serviceable bricks manufactured was 1,252,000; number of bricks used in
erection of buildings for coal mines 368,000; number of bricks used in the
erection of public and private buildings 188,000.”
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.
Mr. Robert Selkirk of Ballarat was called in to review the works. Robert had arrived in Victoria in 1854 at the age of
14 with his family and after working as a stonemason for thirty years,
eventually started his own business making bricks by hand just outside Ballarat
in the goldfields. He thought the State Brick Works were
incorrectly sited on almost permanently wet clay, this clay being too heavy and
sticky for the machinery to handle. He subsequently supervised the making of
25,000 bricks from clay obtained from the pony paddock, but was of the opinion
that the black coal was not suitable for burning the bricks. Nevertheless, he conceded, good quality
bricks could be made for as little as 32-33/- per 1000.
Despite Mr
Selkirk’s expert opinion, on 20 October 1913, the State Government Cabinet
decided to discontinue brick making at Wonthaggi and to dispose of the plant
and its material by public tender. Initially, a by-law decreed that Wonthaggi
houses should be made of brick, but on 24 October 1913, the by-law was relaxed.
There were at
least two other brick works that operated in Wonthaggi. One was owned by Edison and Utting and began
in April 1911 near South Dudley. Originally a Mr Ash was reported as being
their manager but another manager was Mr George.
One of the reasons given for the
failure of the Wonthaggi Brick Works was the influence of the Co=Operative
Brick Company. Brick makers in Melbourne had 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.
Remains of Brick Pits at Wonthaggi
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