Gartcraig brick found in Australia
Found by Allan Mitchell and recovered from an old copper mine chimney about 250km from Darwin, Australia.
Allan states:- The site is known as the Daly River Copper Mine Massacre, where, in 1884, about 5 white miners were murdered by Aboriginals. The reprisals or punitive expeditions probably resulted in the death of around 100 Aboriginals.
The mine opened and closed over the next 30 years and a kiln was constructed around 1900, with these bricks, which I believe had already been used in a clay works in Darwin before being moved to the mine site.
In 1942, Darwin was bombed many times by the Japanese and whilst the mine was abandoned, the military decided to flatten it as it was believed the Japanese could use it for navigation.
Some of the bricks were then moved about 100km to a US airfield called Fenton and used there. I need to get back there to see if I can find evidence of that.
Note the thumbprint to the bottom left.
Below – ‘Gartcraig’ – Gartcraig, By Millerston, Glasgow.