Ambrico Kiln
The original Gardner Bros & Parker downdraught kiln is located right outside Te Toi Uku. Built in 1926 and last fired in 1957, this kiln is the last remaining structure from New Lynn’s brick-making era.
The History
The Gardner Bros & Parker kiln was part of the original Gardner Bros & Parker brickworks. The brickworks covered 50 acres (20 hectares) and included the Gardner family homes. There were 8 houses, a tennis court, dairy, orchards and gardens. They also produced their own electricity.
The brickworks were run by three brothers – Rice Owen (‘Tonks’) Gardner, John Gardner, and Charles Gardner. They moved to Auckland in 1901 and purchased a plot of land next to the New Lynn train station. The brothers were the sons of Louisa Felgate Clark (1850-1939) and John Gardner (1839-1914). Their mother, Louisa, was the daughter of Rice Owen Clark – the first Clark to arrive in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
The Gardner Bros and Parker firm operated in New Lynn from 1902 to 1929. In 1929, the company became part of the newly formed Amalgamated Brick and Pipe Company. Other partners included R. O. Clark, New Zealand Brick and Tile Company, and Glenburn Fireclay and Pottery Company. Charles Fisher Gardner (known as Sonny) was one of the managing directors of Amalgamated Brick and Pipe Co.
The Gardner arm of Amalgamated Brick and Pipe Co. made ‘Gardner Reds’ - a particularly red-coloured brick which was transported throughout Auckland. These bricks were fired in the still-standing downdraught kiln, and were used in the construction of iconic buildings like the original Auckland Railway Station. You can see these bricks in person when visiting the Museum – the downdraught kiln was built with them.
The downdraught kiln had its final firing in 1957, and the Gardner Bros & Parker factory closed completely in 1973.
Experience the kiln in VR!
Use your mouse to move around the VR kiln above. You can look up to see the brick work, and down to see the slotted floor which allowed the hot air to move through into the chamber beneath. In the kiln, we display several objects including trolleys, shaping tools and kiln furniture.
How the Kiln Worked
The Gardner Bros & Parker downdraught kiln was an intermittently firing kiln and was relatively small in comparison to other kilns operating at the time. This kiln could fire 30,000 bricks at once, and it took two weeks to fully complete a firing cycle.
This kiln shared a 110ft chimney with a much larger Hoffmann kiln built in 1904. The Hoffmann kiln was constantly firing and could fire 150,000 bricks at a time.
The downdraught kiln was fuelled with a combination of coal and timber fires. Along each side, there are seven open arches in which the fires were lit. Fourteen in total, these burners had a grate to hold the coal, and space beneath for the timber.
Once the kiln was packed with bricks and the fires lit, the doors (or ‘wickets’) were bricked over. It would then have taken a week to fire up, and another to cool again. Bricks are fired at a relatively low temperature in comparison with other clay products – between 800 and 1100°C. In contrast, porcelain is fired at the highest temperature range – between 1220°C to 1300°C.
The hot gas released from the burners rose to the roof of the kiln, before being drawn down through slits in the kiln floor into an underground chamber. Once out of the kiln, the gas then travelled up and out through the large, shared chimney.
After a week of cooling, the bricks were safe to unload. Then, transported via trains throughout the country, these bricks were used in all sorts of building-works.
Saving the Kiln
The clay industry in New Lynn came to an end in the 1980s. Throughout the 1980s, various branches of the Crown Lynn Potteries continued to close, and in 1989, the company closed for good. As a result, many of the buildings owned by the company were demolished and most documentation on the company was destroyed.
Thankfully, the Gardner Bros and Parker kiln was saved. This was a result of the hard work and advocacy of some key local historians and councillors – namely Jack Diamond, Dave Harre and Pamela Wells. They lobbied for the kiln’s preservation when its corporate owners sought its demolition.
As the last remaining structure from New Lynn’s brick-making era, this kiln is hugely important and its standing as a Category I historic place ensures it shall be protected into the future.
