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Fri 25 Feb 1938 - The Katoomba Daily (NSW : 1920 - 1939)
Page 1 - BETTER AND CHEAPER HOMES
better and cheaper
homes
ADVANTAGES OF NEW BRICK- .
MAKING INDUSTRY.
EXTENSIVE SHALE
r DEPOSIT
Katoomba hopies from Ka-
toomba bricks — better homes
built ' with better bricks, at.
less cost.
It sounds like a home-
builder's dream; "yet its re
ality will soon be beyond, dis
pute.
Katoomba's 'new industry
is on the way.' Buildings and
plant are being erected and
shortly will be witnessed the
manufacture of fifty thousand
superior bricks per working
week. Many orders are already,
awaiting fulfilment.
It Is good news for the Blue
Mountains, for Industry iB e-
thing all' should seek to encpuiage.
We cdnnot hope for ever to be folly
dependent on the tourtat-i triP
and holidaymaker. So, in a smal
way, the hew brickworks brings
advantages to the district — _ quick
ssra.-a'iSS'SS
trict. For these reasonsaUvdll
wish the hew company well in its
undertaking. Not that its fu ""L
doubtful. On the contrary,
are of rosy hue. The Pr0reBS
development of the. Blue Mountains
"iL'SKS6 SSTtASt
PlTn partmallor'capital g
subscribed— to the value of £3600,
to be exact. No special efiorthas
been made to secure /t, and_ litue.
i remains to be subscribed. Tb
itself indicates the faith local
vestors beve In the project.
ABUNDANT SUPPLY OF,
shale.
This week we visited the Blte.of
the works, where all speed Is be
ing made in getting ready the
several unlts of manufacture. An
interesting .process,- too, , ,
hope to fully describe In a later
issue. First ana foremost, of
course, is the quaUty of the mater
ial from which , future dwellings are
to be made, And our attention was
directed to the extehslve.shale seam.
At one point we were taken to .a
disused pit whence supplies had
been taken by road maintenance.-
autborltles. None,, apparently, rea
lised the potential wealth 89 read
ily at hand— that this very mater
ial, crushed and mixed in proper
proportion, was ''capable ®f hemp,
transformed into bricks -of _A1
quality. It provides further proof
' of" "the saying thAtije&lect of oppor-:
tunity is ' of daily" Noceurrence. / we
wore advised that, rtsnlttng from
two years' '".extehslyB prospecting,
other deposits of high-grade- shale
are existent In the district; but
these/ where readily accessible, are
only in small parcels. Nowhere Is
there an area - "as ' large, And' as
conveniently situated, as that taken
over by - the company. Test wells
have been sunk to a depth of 21
feet without bottoming the seam.
Furthermore, . it rises almost to
surface level — a big factor in eco
nomic handling. A - geological
feature pointed out to us:
the only' shale seamB of value are-
those running . north and south.
Under . the guidance - of company
officials our Inexperienced eye was
able to trace the seam to several
distant points, and to note its
peculiarity in following the surface
contour.
On the slopes of the ridge
(which is next to and runs parallel
with the ridge leading to" Nellie's
Glen) are unsurpassed clay de
posits, 20 per cent, of which goes
into the brick as a binding agency.
Every constitutent, and plenty of
it, seems to be laid on — a brick-
maker's paradise. No industry could
start under more favored condi
tions. It would take upwards of
half a century to work out the
shale deposits.
COLOR HARMONY
We learned, too, that while color
is largely determined by tempera
ture and duration of burning, the
manufacture of bricks <of varying
tones will be facilitated by. the
nature of - the material which
abounds in brown, grey, and blue .
colors.
Viewed from every angle,
prospects are highly encouraging,
and, with the extension of patron
age that is due to local established
industry, these prospectsshould not
be found difficult of fulfilment.