FROMOUR LOCAL HISTORY COLLECTION 📖
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FROMOUR LOCAL HISTORY COLLECTION 📖Winkie Brick Works
Arthur E. Norman arrived in Berri in 1916 and by 1921 had gone into business with P.M. Hall in establishing the Berri Brick Company. By 1925 he had moved his brick yards to a property on Lower Winkie Road in Winkie where the clay there was perfect for making and firing bricks and making tiles and lime. The property had a large kiln, with railway lines and carts used to move the clay and bricks from the quarry to the sheds and kiln.
The clay was brought to the surface by means of a chute then placed in a hopper where it was mixed by a large blade. Brick makers then moulded the bricks after which they would be placed in long low roofed sheds to dry before being moved to the kiln to be burnt. At any one time there would be up to 70,000 bricks in the drying shed ready for baking.
A.E. Norman’s bricks were used to build many homes in the Berri township, notably those along the riverfront and Crawford Terrace, most of which still stand strong today. For many years the bricks held the distinctive A.N. etched into the top of each. Between 1924 and 1932 the bricks sold at £5 per 1000.
An original early AE Norman red brick is on display in the Berri Barmera Local History Collection, dug out from a garden bed in the lower Winkie area.
In early 1945 the Winkie Brick Yard was extended to Renmark where a depot was opened in Pyap Street. Many houses and buildings in Renmark were built from Norman red bricks.
Arthur was known for his charitable ways and the Berri Band and Rowing Club received much support and donations from him over the years.
His son Ron took over the brick yards after being invalided home near the end of World War II and Arthur and his wife retired to the home he had built in Marshall Street in Berri. This was a lovely red brick house built high with plastered features and columns. The home has a large drawing room with big bay windows, high ceilings and timber floors where many dances and local events were held by the Norman family.
Arthur passed away in January 1949 aged 55 years. He left a widow, twin daughters and three sons.
14 hours ago ·
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