Lime Kiln Traditional Cache
Hidden : 12/13/2009
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:

Driveby off bitumen road.

This is typical of the lime kilns spread over Yorke Peninsula.

Lime Kilns
From ancient times to the early 20th century, processed limestone has played a vital role in the construction industry. The mortar of choice for brick or stone buildings, it was also used for stabilising floors, ground surfacing (including roads, paths and verandahs), and for rendering and finishing walls and ceilings. In fact, for most of the functions for which we now use concrete and cement

The early settlers in South Australia discovered various deposits of limestone scattered throughout the colony and soon constructed holes and small make-shift kilns with which to process the stone to create much-needed mortar. To create this mortar, chunks of limestone were layered and burnt in kilns to produce quicklime which, when slaked in water, formed a putty to be mixed with sand or aggregate to create a thick and durable product.

By 1863, there were at least 70 lime kilns dotted throughout the South Australian countryside. Few of these are known to survive. The earliest kilns recorded and listed in the SA Heritage Register are the lime kiln and dolomite quarry at Days Road Woodside (erected 'before 1871 - State Heritage Place (SHP) 12900) and the lime kilns at the Peake ruins near Oodnadatta (possibly dating from the 1860s - SHP 13624). Relics of a c1860s kiln also survive at the 'Farm Cottage and Outbuildings on OLeary Rd, Mount Gambier (a local heritage place).

By 1876, at least 16 lime kilns were still in use employing 120 men. Ten years later, there were still at least 15 kilns with 77 men employed to run them. Other surviving kilns from the 19th-century include the lime kilns at Dingley Dell in the Flinders Ranges (SHP 11760); and the two kilns at the former Green farm, Monarto, from where lime was provided to construct many of the buildings in Murray Bridge.

In the early 20th century, the South Australian lime industry gained a new lease of life when a number of substantial kilns were constructed on Yorke Peninsula, an area which was to become the centre of South Australian lime production and export. The 1897 kiln at Stansbury (SHP 16680) is one of the largest and earliest, with the c1900 kilns at Edithburgh having a similar scale and high integrity. The most strikingly designed and best-preserved of the states kilns is at Wool Bay (Cache GCRTW4 Woolie) at the foot of Yorke Peninsula (SHP 10112). Other fine kilns in the area include the crusher and kiln at Pt Vincent, and the open-topped kilns at Kulpara. More ruinous examples also survive at Minlaton (c1910) and near Port Vincent (all documented in the Heritage of the Yorke Peninsula, 1998).

Beyond Yorke Pensinsula, several other kilns were established during this period. Important surviving examples include the substantial and well-preserved kilns at Tailem Bend (c1908 - SHP 13808), and the smaller-scale set of three surviving kilns at Bower (c1920 - SHP 11024).

In 1914 there were still nine lime-processing factories in South Australia employing over 190 people. However, in the next few decades Portland cement gradually took over as the building material of choice, and eventually South Australias lime kilns ceased production. The best-preserved examples of these kilns are significant for having provided building materials to their surrounding locality, region and/or for export, and for surviving to help tell the story of a once significant South Australian industry.

References include: P Donovan An Industrial History of South Australia (Working Paper 2, Department of Architecture, University of Adelaide, 1979), pp 2, 23, 41, 62, 63 & 74; AD Cowper 1927 Lime and lime mortars (Reprint for Building Research Establishment by Donhead, UK, 1998); South Australian Heritage Register and State Heritage Place files and photographs of working SA lime kilns accessed via the State Library of South Australia catalogue at (visit link)

Source: (visit link)

Cache suitable for swaps and contains FTF pin and pathtag.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Gur tngr vf pybfrq ohg V funyy xrrc lbh cbfgrq.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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