During the second half of the 19th century and into the 20th, Maitland was the leading brickmaking centre in NSW thanks to the expertise and longevity of two families - the Bakers and the Turtons.
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Possibly these families were the premier regional brickmasters in Australia.
As early as the 1820s, sun-dried bricks were being made by convict labour. Several Maitland brickyards emerged, primarily in East Maitland due to its extensive clay reserves.
John Baker, a stonemason and brickmaker, arrived in Maitland in 1852 and experimented in making bricks using low-quality clay in the Morpeth quarry. He adjusted conditions to account for the hot, drying Australian sun. The bricks made by the family (both sons and daughters) were sold for 5 shillings per 100,000.
John's wife, Mary Alice, discovered brick-making clay at the lower end of Plantation Reserve. The clay was of high quality, trees were available for charcoal and the site had a supply of creek water. Today, East Maitland Swimming Pool is built over the highest of the Baker dams.
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Baker won a long-term contract to supply bricks for Cumberland Hall in 1857. This contract allowed the family to buy land and build their first home. Baker and other contractors were paid with gold sovereigns brought to the site in wheelbarrows under Police escort.
In 1961, Cumberland Hall was demolished to make way for the construction of the new Maitland Girls High School.
The Bakers' next brickyard, adjacent to Raymond Terrace Road near the East Maitland Cemetery, permitted bricks to be made continuously. The bricks were sold on site. The fourth brickyard at Two Mile Gully, just south of Turton's Brickyards, was fully mechanised in 1907 when dry-press machinery was installed. During 1913, the clay began to run out.
The fifth and final brickyard opposite Howes Lagoon at Raworth contained a coal seam in the brick pit, and a colliery was opened. Surplus coal was sold. Bakers acquired a railway siding in 1914.
New pollution laws and the cost of converting from coal to an environmentally friendly alternative forced the brickyard to close in the 1973. This ended six generations of Baker brickworks in East Maitland.
The Turtons commenced brickmaking in Newcastle after Robert Turton arrived in 1851 from Adelaide having emigrating from Chesterfield, England in 1849. Thus began a four generational brickmaking dynasty.
The Turtons moved to Maitland in 1882 when Robert's son Francis purchased a sand stock hand-moulding yard from Smith and Dawson, to became known as East Maitland Brickworks.
The Turtons installed steam power and continued manufacturing sand stock bricks. Frank Turton was the first to introduce modern brick making machinery into the East Maitland area.
Francis chose well. There was sufficient clay to remain at the site for three Turton generations, making both bricks and roofing tiles.
The firm was sold to PGH in 1969. Maitland's long and proud brickmaking industry ended in 2006 when CSR halted brick production and closed the PGH brickworks. The new Maitland Hospital is being built on the site, one of NSW's largest clay reserves.
