Chicory Kiln

Background

The Chicory Kiln at Maddingley, south of the Werribee River at Bacchus Marsh, is a large brick structure that was built in 1885 for the process of drying chicory roots.

Chicory was grown in Bacchus Marsh from at least 1867 by Thomas Pearce. In 1877 it was recorded in The Bacchus Marsh Express that Mr T.G. Pearce, in conjunction with his father, Thomas Pearce, had been growing chicory in Bacchus Marsh for the last ten years, with 12 to 20 acres being cultivated every season. That same year Pearce acknowledged Mr Le Couteur as the first local grower of this crop and as a source of information about chicory for him.

History

Constructed on the Taverner Street boundary of a farming property in Maddingley, immediately south of Bacchus Marsh and about 200 metres south of the Werribee River, the chicory kiln stands alone with no associated shedding, wash trough or other equipment remaining on the site, though archaeological evidence for these may survive. It is a large, square, red brick building, constructed in colonial bond brickwork, and set on bluestone and sandstone foundations. It has a hipped corrugated galvanised iron roof and a crowning cylindrical, corrugated iron vent. The western wall of the kiln is parapeted while the other three walls are eaved. The drying floor is situated about three-quarters of the height of the kiln above ground level and comprises a wire mesh rack supported on iron beams and rafters. A number of original window and door openings remain, generally at ground level and at the level of the drying floor. The south facade, which faces the road and the railway line beyond, features a large painted advertising sign for 'Dr Morse's Indian Root Pills'. This sign is highly visible from the railway line and probably dates from the mid to late 1890s when advertisements for this medicine first appeared in Victorian newspapers. The kiln was originally fitted with a root slicing disc, elevators to take the cut root to the drying floor and bagging facilities. The brick kiln was constructed by Mr J.F. Taylor and carpenter, Mr Murphy.

In 1885 the Pearce Brothers constructed a chicory kiln to provide a drying facility for their chicory crops which had previously been sold in a green state. This reduced both their weight and bulk for packing and transporting to Melbourne. It was described in The Bacchus Marsh Express on the 18 July 1885 as 'a large brick erection, forming a prominent feature of the landscape, and is fitted in the best style, with root slicing disc, elevators to take the cut root to the drying floor and bagging facilities.' The water wheel, Californian pump, centrifugal pump, wooden plough and three tiered cultivator were all noted at the time. The kiln was constructed only about 200 metres south of the Werribee River and the chicory crop was watered by irrigation. A calico hose carried water to the crop, with each watering delivering about two inches of water. Pearce's crop rotation involved chicory, carrots, hay and potatoes.

The Chicory Kiln at Maddingley is the largest known chicory kiln in Victoria and is the oldest remaining substantially intact example of its kind in Victoria. Built in 1885 by a professional builder, the kiln was of considerable size. Later kilns tended to be of a smaller, more uniform size, as the design was refined for maximum efficiency. The majority of kilns remaining in Victoria were constructed in the twentieth century.

Site

30 Taverner Street, Maddingley

Innovations

T.G. Pearce was also an innovator and by 1877 he had installed a water wheel in the Werribee River to power a pump to irrigate 28 acres he had planted with chicory, potatoes, lucerne and onions.

The People

Thomas Pearce, father of T.G. Pearce

T.G. Pearce, son of Thomas Pearce

Legacies

Chicory was grown in Victoria from the 1860s to the 1960s for use as a coffee substitute and additive, with production centred largely on Phillip Island and French Island. Kilns were constructed to dry the roots of the chicory plant to reduce the weight and bulk for packing and transporting to Melbourne for roasting and grinding. Of thirty three kilns known to remain in Victoria, twenty eight are located on Phillip and French Islands and one in Bacchus Marsh. Chicory was grown in Bacchus Marsh from as early as 1867 by the Pearce family, owners of the first general business store in Bacchus Marsh, and by 1877 T.G. Pearce had installed innovative equipment to irrigate his crops, including chicory, with water from the nearby Werribee River. In 1885 the Pearce brothers constructed a brick chicory kiln with associated equipment on their property. After much agitation from farmers in the district, the railway line from Melbourne was finally extended to Bacchus Marsh in 1887, providing convenient transportation for the dried chicory. Chicory was a labour-intensive crop and by the 1890s its production in Bacchus Marsh had declined. Pearce established an extraction plant at his kiln in 1895 for the processing of another crop: sugar beet. By the 1910s the kiln was recorded as disused.

See also

Bacchus Marsh

External Links

Victorian Heritage Register - http://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/192306/download-report

Image of the Chicory Kiln - https://www.flickr.com/photos/52846207@N04/4951953273

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--Clare K.Gervasoni 17:06, 8 September 2015 (AEST)