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Story: Auckland places

Brick-making

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Brick-making

Men quarry clay for bricks at the Gardner Brothers and Parker clay pits in New Lynn, in 1910. The clay was tipped into a hopper – like a mincer – and emerged as a long, solid block. This was cut into eight bricks at a time, before being dried and coal-fired in a kiln. Bricks that broke were known as brick-bats, and used for roading.

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Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira

Reference: M338(38-39)

Permission of the Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Margaret McClure, Auckland places – West Auckland, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/16133/brick-making (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Margaret McClure, published 2 March 2009, updated 5 August 2016.