Enjoy the history and the cache, hidden to celebrate the connection of this area to brick making and the clay that bought the early pioneers here.
The photo above is of the Whau river and a view of some of these historical brickmaking sites:
- The first brick kiln was on nearby Rata Street 1861
- At the end of Archibald Road, James Archibald built his first brickyard from c.1873, the yard was on a site bordering Beaubank Reserve. To find out more.
- A brick kiln was built at Queen Mary Avenue in 1893
- The Laurie Bros brick yard was on the Whau River, located in the area that is now Hepburn Road.
- Murray & Sloan partnership is believed to be located near Te Waita Place. The brickmakers of Avondale's riverside can be seen on this map.
The Brickmakers memorial in New Lynn has examples of some of the local bricks. Timepanner is a website of local and NZ history, a link to an article about the memorial.
Its easy to forget how Auckland was built on these long gone industries, makers of bricks, crockery, pottery, plumbing and underground pipes.
Some of New Lynn made bricks have been used in the:
- Chelsea Sugar Works
- Calliope Dock
- Parts of the War Memorial Museum
- Auckland Boys Grammer
Many examples still exist, here are some local ones:
- New Lynn Police station
- Ceramco House
- The first New Lynn Post office (Potters Post)