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Find of the Month September 2023

Yarralumla Brickworks: A Canberra icon

Fig 1. ACT3-2797 Aerial view of Old Canberra Brickworks - Yarralumla, 1985.

Despite it not having produced bricks for nearly half a century, generations of Canberrans are familiar with the Yarralumla Brickworks and its important role in building this city. The brickworks, also called the Commonwealth Brickworks and the Canberra Brickworks, made ‘Canberra Reds’ from local clay deposits. These bricks were used for many of Canberra’s major buildings, including Old Parliament House, East and West Blocks, Hotel Canberra, the Royal Australian Mint, National Library of Australia, and many homes. Today, the bricks are highly sought after for small building projects, and the brickworks’ tall chimney remains a Canberra landmark.

Fig. 2. Example of a Canberra Red brick. Courtesy Ken Vesperman, 2023.

Bricks were produced on a site first referred to as Westbourne, then West Ridge, then Yarralumla, from 1913 to 1976, with periods of closure due to the First and Second World Wars and the Depression.i A railway line ran from the brickworks to the (Old) Parliament House site to supply bricks for the construction; watch the Canberra Railway Museum’s informative short documentary about this for more information.ii

Fig. 3. Kiln at the Canberra Brick Works, Yarralumla, by Harry Connell, between 1913 and 1917, nla.obj-149341046.

Researching the Canberra Brickworks shows how resources relating to one place or topic can be held in a variety of institutions. For example:

  • The ACT Heritage Library holds numerous print, photographic and online resources about the site
  • The National Library of Australia holds photographs of the brickworks, manuscripts collections including papers of the Shumack family, and a 1980 oral history interview with Terry Horan, an assistant manager at the brickworks
  • The National Archives of Australia hold most files relating to housing for workers, the buildings at the site, and pay and conditions for the period that the brickworks were in operation
  • The Canberra Museum and Gallery holds objects and signs from the brickworks

ArchivesACT have numerous records relating to the brickworks, mostly, but not all, from the period since self-government (1989). They include:

  • Heritage Unit files relating to site inventory, proposed developments, and revenue from projects based at the brickworks
  • Arts and Recreation branch files relating to tenants of the facility in the 1990s
  • Cabinet papers relating to development proposals
  • Canberra Tourist Bureau files relating to Old Canberra Brickworks
  • Files relating to restoration projects on specific parts of the site
  • Government tenancy registers for the Brickworks Managers residence and the Brickworks Mess

One of the pre-self government records we hold is a Territory Advisory Council subject file relating to the ‘Canberra Brickyards’. It covers the period 1945 to 1957, and contains extracts from meeting minutes, correspondence and newspaper clippings. The records illustrate how significant the brickworks were to Canberra’s growth. As Councillor Mr W.I. Byrne commented in the 14 March 1955 meeting, “Everybody in Canberra is concerned with brick production here.”iii

The minutes included in the file are full of facts, figures and debate about the quality and quantity of bricks being produced at the brickworks. Administrators considered how ageing equipment and labour shortages could be overcome in order to fulfil the ambitious post-war building program. There were terse exchanges about when the Yarralumla clay and shale deposits would run out, and whether there was sufficient clay in Lonsdale Street, City Hill, or Belconnen to supply the brickworks (The Bureau of Mineral Resources recommended Mulligan’s Flat). The file also records consternation about bricks being sent to regional New South Wales for public infrastructure projects such as the Yass Hospital, when Canberra builders were having to source bricks from Goulburn or Bowral.

Fig. 4. ArchivesACT A3399/941 - Territory Advisory Council - Canberra Brickyards.

The file shows that between October and December 1945 the monthly total of bricks produced averaged 203,000. At the time, 30,000 to 40,000 bricks were needed to build a domestic residence. The brickworks were indeed able to modernise, and were ultimately an attractive employer. As a Commonwealth Government organisation, they were able to offer relatively good pay and conditions for the industry, and access to workers’ housing at a time when there was a three-year wait to obtain a home in Canberra.

In the oral history interview mentioned earlier, Terry Horan talks about the Brickworks over the long period that he worked there. During the early 1960s, when large building projects like the Royal Australian Mint and the National Library of Australia were underway, the brickworks were producing at least 250,000 bricks a week, and even up to 500,000. By this time, production had been modernised and there were around 80 employees.iv

Fig. 5. ACT3-2744 Aerial view of Old Canberra Brickworks - Yarralumla, 1985.

Since closing in 1976 the site has used for a variety of purposes, including events like markets, arts groups, and for many years as a workshop for furniture makers Thor’s Hammer.v Death metal fans may remember the brickworks being used in a music video by local legends Armoured Angel.vi It has now been approved as a residential development for 380 homes, with heritage aspects of the site including remnants of the railway to be retained.

Fig. 6. ACT3-89 Old Canberra Brickworks - Aerial - Helicopter view, 1988.

Images

Fig 1. ACT3-2797. Aerial view of Old Canberra Brickworks - Yarralumla, 1985

Fig. 2. Example of a Canberra Red brick. Courtesy Ken Vesperman, 2023

Fig. 3. Kiln at the Canberra Brick Works, Yarralumla, by Harry Connell, between 1913 and 1917, nla.obj-149341046

Fig. 4. ArchivesACT A3399/941 - Territory Advisory Council - Canberra Brickyards

Fig. 5. ACT3-2744 Aerial view of Old Canberra Brickworks - Yarralumla, 1985

Fig. 6. ACT3-89 Old Canberra Brickworks – Aerial – Helicopter view, 1988

References

i ACT Heritage Library. Place stories: Yarralumla Brickworks Housing, n.d.https://www.library.act.gov.au/find/history/frequentlyaskedquestions/Place_Stories/brickworkshousing

ii Canberra Railway Museum. Canberra’s original light rail? The Brickworks Tramway, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjcoCV8lOck

iii ArchivesACT file A3399/941. Territory Advisory Council - Canberra Brickyards

iv Terry Horan interviewed by Leone Warne, 1980. National Library of Australia oral history collection. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-215147197

v Yarralumla Residents Association. Canberra Brickworks, c. 2019. Canberra Brickworks - Yarralumla Residents Association.

vi Armoured Angel. Enigmatize (video clip), c. 1994. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHKWHKGBFGE

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