Saturday, December 28, 2013

Wilsmore

John Braisted Wilsmore was born on the 1st of June 1831 at West Mersea in Essex and migrated to Victoria in 1858.  He began working as a cartage contractor, a business he continued until 1872.  In 1872 he purchased about 30 acres of land in Albert Street west Brunswick, next to Cornwell’s Pottery.  He built a brick works and employed six men who made around 25,000 bricks a week.  The land was described as “A rectangular piece of land, part of Crown portion 104 Parish of Jika Jika 86 feet to the north side of Victoria Street, a road leading from the Sydney Road to Moonee Ponds by 150 feet and commencing 210 feet from a point 297 feet south from the north-east corner of the said portion.”  He was later joined by younger brother Robert Henry Wilsmore.  Robert had been a farmer at Tylden, but John “accidentally” shot his brother in the leg in 1887. 

When he sold the brick works to the Wilsmore Brick Company in 1888, there were about thirty people working there, turning out 100,000 bricks a week.  The prospectus for the company aimed to raise 150,000 and appointed John as the Manager of the works for an initial period of six months so that “the Directors will therefore have the benefit of his valuable advice and assistance in erecting the necessary additional kilns and machinery”.  The actual works covered about 4 acres and had good rail access by way of a siding.  They made a variety of products and sold a lot of their output to country Victoria. 

“SERIOUS ACCIDENT. A painful accident happened at the Wilsmore Brick Works early Friday morning to an engine-driver named William Addis, who is a married man residing in Glenlyon-road.  Addis was on the night shift, whilst engaged in oiling the machinery, some of his clothes became entangled in the driving belt.  With tremendous force he was carried up to the shaft and hurled against the pulley.  He fortunately fell clear of the machinery, but when picked up and was found to be suffering intensely.  With all promptitude Addis was conveyed to the surgery of Dr. Hamilton, who discovered that the man was suffering from injuries to the spine, and had also one of his wrists broken.  The doctor paid every attention to him, and the sufferer was then conveyed to his home.”  Coburg Leader 28th January 1891.

 Sadly, fhe Wilsmore Brick Company was another casualty of the crash in the 1890s.  Orders dried up and creditors were calling.  The company was placed into the hands of liquidators in 1893 and sold off.  John died in Prahran, Victoria in 1907 at the age of 76.  At least, he appears to have made his money before the crash.


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