The arrival of the Great Northern Railway in the 1880s saw the onset of dramatic
growth in the New England region of New South Wales. Substantial public and
private buildings were constructed in clay brick and this demand attracted
the Willis family, brickmakers from Wales, to Glen Innes where they established
a brickworks in the 1890s.
The Glen Innes Brickworks has been in continuous
production since that time, providing a range of heritage bricks to architects,
designers, government departments, builders and renovators. It could be said
that most of Glen Innes is built of solid bricks from the Glen Innes Brickworks.
The Glen Innes Brickworks is classified with the National
Trust and was included in their register in 1984. It was the only steam
driven brickworks extant in NSW and one of only two in Australia still fired
by wood. The plant has since been converted to electricity to ensure its long-term
viability, however the steam equipment has been restored and is still functional.
Mass manufacturing of cheap extruded bricks in the 1970s caused the demise
of most of the traditional brickmakers. Isolated country plants remained,
and even these have gradually closed as cheaper transport systems increased
competition by the city -based producers. However, the new plants cannot reproduce
the original colours or textures of the old dry pressed brickworks. This has
caused real problems for those wishing to carry out renovations or build anew
with traditional bricks.
Glen Innes Brickworks has been fortunate enough
to survive and be able to provide this service.
