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History
In 2009 Littlehampton
Bricks celebrates its 117th birthday.
Located in the heart of the beautiful Adelaide Hills, the company has
been manufacturing quality clay bricks and pavers on the same original
site since 1892.
In the beginning, before the company was formed, exploration teams were
sent from Adelaide to Littlehampton, where they discovered that there
were exceptional clay seams and shales, ideally suited for the manufacturing
of refractory firebricks and top quality house bricks.
A workman’s hut was erected on the actual site where the company
now stands, and hand-moulded bricks were first made to be tested for use
in industry application.
The bricks proved to be of superior quality, and the Littlehampton Brick
Company was formed.
In the beginning, the company primarily produced firebricks for the smelter
works and foundries at Port Adelaide, and by the early 1900s the refractory
bricks were used in all the new “T” class locomotives for
the Royal South Australian Railways.
Through the years the company has withstood the Great Depression, two
world wars and has seen many other changes, especially in the manufacturing
procedures.
The first original kilns, two of which still stand today, were wood fired
for two full weeks, allowing 15,000 bricks to be made a fortnight.
Today the modern kiln can fire 90,000 bricks in just two days burning
time, allowing more than 6m bricks and pavers to be produced per year
for the local and overseas markets.
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