Brickworks Limited

History

Brickworks was founded on 21 June 1934 in New South Wales in an effort to protect the Australian brick manufacturing industry from the impact of the Great Depression. Initially, the company alternated from public to private but has remained public since 1939. As a manufacturer of building materials, the company eventually became involved in property sales, property trust, and waste management. This led to the development of The Land and Development Group, which became the second main part of Brickworks Limited business model, coexisting with The Building Product Group and The Investments Group.

1930s

The Great Depression had a severe impact on the brick manufacturing industry. In response, the NSW Brick Master's Association dispensed unnecessary yards in order to make brick manufacturing more efficient and economic. The Brickworks Limited company was created, and focused on marketing and distributing bricks and clay products.

William King Dawes, who was general manager of Austral Bricks and managing director of Brickworks, spearheaded a newly established council – The Council of Brick Manufacturers. As chairman, Dawes combined Brickworks Limited with various companies and independent brickyard owners in a 10-year agreement to secure the viability of the company. Part of this agreement was an imposed fee to cover marketing, distribution, and selling expenses of bricks and other clay products. In 1935, the St. Peters Agreement was signed. It divided Sydney into zones serviced by local brickyards. Manly Brick & Tile Company, a yard that did not survive the depression, still possessed millions of bricks in inventory that were then purchased by Clay Industries Limited, a subsidiary of Brickworks Limited.

In 1936, Austral Bricks revised its Articles of Association to become privatised, and Brickworks Limited expanded its capacity by acquiring State Brickworks from the Government of New South Wales. In the same year, 14 tile roofing companies joined forces to control the quantity of production against the demand to prevent the decline in prices and formed Roof Tiles Limited. In the following years, Brickworks Limited bought a number of assets, properties, and companies that were running out of resources. In 1939, during wartime, a strict price control on bricks and lending restrictions on cooperative societies was implemented, and the Brickworks Limited reverted to a public company.