Site 75 The Brick Kiln

Wimmera Mallee Pioneer Museum, Dimboola - Rainbow Rd

Return to walk homepage

Very early in the history of Jeparit it became obvious that there was a need for locally made bricks. The Jeparit air-dry method brick kiln (sun-dried not fired) was on this site from 1890 until about 1910. This was set up by William James Cattermole the son of John David Cattermole who had a kiln in Diapur. W. J. Cattermole had 9 children, some of whom attended the school in Jeparit. There was also a Mr C. Dorrington involved in the Jeparit Kiln whose son was a local bricklayer. This bricklayer built many chimneys and buildings in the district at the time, sometimes building a chimney each day.

The Church of England ordered 34,000 bricks in 1899 at a cost of £4.5.0 ($8.50) per thousand. St John’s Lutheran Church also used the bricks to build their first church measuring 38 by 22 ½ feet.

Disclaimer: All information contained on these pages has been prepared over years of research from a small local volunteer group. The information is correct to the best of our knowledge. We always welcome suggestions for corrections or further information to add to the heritage sites. Please forward any comments to info@hindmarsh.vic.gov.au.