Location 353
Location #353 - Antimony Smelter Chimney
Map 6
Address

Area

Slaughteryard Hill

Description

Location #353 - Antimony Smelter Chimney Slaughteryard Hill, northern slope, above the antimony smelter site.


Still Standing

No


In ruins - partly still existing

Construction Details

Stones with clay mortar (lower), brick with lime mortar (upper)

Location Type

Other


View Location on Map

Image Not Found
Interested Parties

The table below shows the groups of people that had an interest in this property, either as owners, residents, tenants or shareholders. Clicking on the 'Details' link will display a list of the individuals in the group along with any known historical information about them.

Group Date Description
1 1882 The Carrick Range Antimony Company Details
2 1883 William Sutherland Details
Notes

The table below shows any historical notes about the location.

Note Date Short Description Note Text
3210 1882 Location of the chimney Northern slope of Slaughteryard Hill, approximately 15m upslope from the smelter site (see location #253) on the northern side of an old road formation. This road now has a gravel pit on the south side. It appears that this area was originally one of the highest parts of Slaughteryard Hill. The site is littered with red brick fragments but there is no foundation remaining. The chimney was linked to the smelter by an underground stone flue. The remains of this can be traced from the western side of the large tailrace/sludge channel. Above the channel, up the hill to the chimney site next to the road. (See plans and sections in the images)
3211 1882 General notes. In March of 1882 the Carrick Range Antimony Company was formed and they proposed to build a smelter. It appears that the smelter was imported from Melbourne Australia. However, the smelter required a tall chimney to generate the draught for the furnace. To save on bricks, and underground stone arch flue was constructed from the smelter to the top of Slaughteryard Hill. At the top of the hill a 40 foot (12m) brick chimney was to be constructed. The company called for tenders for the supply of 20,000 bricks for the chimney. It is unclear, but some of the bricks may have been used in part of the smelter construction as well as in the chimney. It seems that the bricks were locally made, probably of Bannockburn clay. The clay would have been mixed in a pug mill then pressed into wooden moulds. The 'green' bricks would have then been fired in a clamp kiln (see photo). To date the author has no information on who or where the bricks were made.
3212 1883 General notes. In March 1883, the Carrick Range Antimony Company went into voluntary liquidation. It is unclear what happened to the smelter, but the chimney remained as a local landmark.
3213 1883 General notes. In October 1883 during a storm, the chimney collapsed. The bricks were then purchased by Mr J L Scott of Cromwell who used them to construct the ovens for his bakery business. The ovens were used until the bakery closed in the late 1940's. When the old Cromwell town was demolished, the ovens and the bricks were dismantled. They are now under the care of 'Old Cromwell Incorporated'
Images

The table below shows a list of images related to the location. Click on 'View Image' to display more details about the image, and to view the image.

Image Id Source Date Short Description
663 Paul Crump - Bannockburn 2001 Location #352 - Antimny Smelter site. View Image
664 Paul Crump - Bannockburn 2001 Location #352 - Antimony Smelter Site View Image
2392 Paul Crump - Bannockburn 2002 Location Plan View Image
2394 Paul Crump - Bannockburn 2002 Antimony Smelter Chimney - location #353, Slaughteryard Hill View Image
2395 Paul Crump - Bannockburn unknown Typical Clamp Kiln View Image