The
Yarralumla brickworks, also known as the Commonwealth Brickworks, was one of the earliest construction projects in
Canberra,
Australia. It was built in the suburb of
Yarralumla to produce the bricks used to build many of Canberra's early buildings. It opened in around 1913 and operated until its closure in 1976. *
Exploring the ACT and Southeast New South Wales, J. Kay McDonald, Kangaroo Press, Sydney, 1985, p41
ISBN 0-86417-049-1 It is known for producing the bricks used to build itself.
Narrow gauge goods
railway lines for the transportation of bricks linked Yarralumla to some of the major building sites in central Canberra such as
Old Parliament House, and the
Kingston Power House. No sign of this early Canberra transport system remains today.
The original brick
kilns were built according to
Walter Burley Griffin's designs with fan forced short
chimneys intended to stay below the height of the surrounding
pine trees. In 1950 after
World War II increased building demands in Canberra meant that a large 46
meter natural-draft chimney was built for the new kilns. This greatly increased brick production capacity. The tall chimney is visible from many locations around central Canberra.
In recent years a report found that the tall chimney was not earthquake-safe. As the chimney was heritage listed and located within falling distance of nearby homes, an engineering firm was called in to make it safe. A frame was built inside the chimney to support it...
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