ST MARTIN'S BRICK MANUFACTORY, OPAWA.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4963, 29 March 1884, Page 4

ST MARTIN'S BRICK MANUFACTORY, OPAWA.

Brickfields, in these Inter days of tha growth and inoreaso of tho City of Christchurch, are becoming, year by year, more prominent representatives of those local industries over which the energetic President of tho Industrial Association watches with such a peculiarly jealous eye. Wooden buildings being within the proscribed area known, we believe, as the " fire-block," bricks, and those engaged in their manufacture, become more and more what Mr Archibald. Forbes teruis " important factors" in the problem of commercial life in the spreading City of Jtho Plains. Ono of the most profitable and best of the local brickfields has been worked for the last five years at St Martin's, Opawa. The owner, Mr Wakefield, seeking to extend the soope of his operations, is j about to convert the concern into a Limited Liability Company, with a capital of .£IO,OOO in £1 shares. A prospectus containing all necessary information on this head appears in our advertising columns. Furbhor inaisponsable knowledge may be obtained by a perusal of what follows here. The St Martin's Brickfield is situated at the point of a spur running down from the "Dry Bush/ and is about midway between Messrs Austin and Kirk's field and the residence of Mr H. P. Murray-Aynsley, at Riverlaw. Speaking from a Sunday afternoon, walkerte point of view, tho spur is the place from whence may be caught one of the .most picturesque glimpses' of tho town and its southern suburbs, obtainable from the Port hills. But intending investors will like to know something more practical and also statistical. The first question that arises is naturally one as to the extent and quality of the clay. There are 22 acres belonging to the property, and over a great portion of this the clay lies in one solid mass, with a curiously small amount of rock, considering the general struoture of the Port hills. The valuators in their report appear >to have estimated the amount of clay at a ridiculously low figure. According to .their calculation the clay on -the place would keep the works fully employed for the next 3f? years. This is understood to be counting on a depth of 16ft all through the 22 acres. But a 40ft face is being worked close behind the mills at the present moment, and tho bill iip.es sharply till the, boundary is reached, without any appearance of stone, so that there jshould be 80ft or more, in many places, of beautiful clay. Indeed, it seemß very evident that the supply is practically inexhaustible, and with an output of four millions of bricks a year, it would most likely be a century before tho proprietors came to the end of their material. Another valuable addition to the resources of the property is a quarry. This is found in an outlying part of the 22 acres, where tlie rock appeal's to run down ' in a narrow strip right on to the flat ground. It is opened out for a short distance, and at present is only worked in a desultory manner by the District Road Board. Even in this way it pays the owner, for he gets a small royalty on every yard of road metal they take away for their own purposes, while all the hard blocks they do not find it worth their while to spend labour over in breaking small, he sells at a profitable rate for " rubble " (used for foundation work, &c). Large pieces of the stone fitted for dressing occur at intervals, and take a good face. They are extremely hard, and make good blocks for doorsteps and like purposes. Tho appliances for working the field are all in good order- They comprise, among other things, two Hoffman kilns, one capable of burning 60,000 bricks, and the other 1-40,000. Five pug mills of the usual type are in use, one of them turning the clay out right on to the workman's table. There is shed accommodation of the ordinary description for 300,000 bricks in the two yards — the clay has been worked at two different points during the five years — and a machine for pressing bricks, employed for facing buildings, capable of turning out some 1200 a day. But little has been done in this line of the trade by Mr Wakefield, who considers that the Port Hills clay is not nearly so well adapted for such work as that found among the Malvern Hills. Machine-pressed bricka, of course, bring a higher price in the market, being some 10s a thousand dearer than the ordinary kind. A large number of the bricks are being used in the construction of Messrs Hobbs' new buildings in Cathedral square, and at the Addington Saleyards. They aredrayed to town by contract, one pair of horses taking 3009 a day. Four houses stand on the ground— one an eight-roomed, two fiveroomed (one of tho Latter is built of brick) and a 4-roomed. In conclusion, it may be remarked that the ground will be exceedingly valuable for building sites when it is all done with as a brickfield.