History – Extruder tells a story

Sitting among the collection of fascinating operational machinery at the Kauri Museum is a Watkinson Brick & Field Tile Extruder. It was made in Louth in the UK over 150 years ago, and thanks to a fellow named James Redfern, it found its way to Paparoa sometime between 1870 and 1890.

Destined for Albertland, James Redfern, with his wife Elizabeth and their nine children, emigrated from England, arriving in Aotearoa in 1862. Through the land grant scheme, the Redferns were awarded 300 acres, choosing a location on the banks of the Paparoa Creek. After the mandatory five-year probation period, it was finally granted to them in 1867, and the Redfern Brickworks story began.

The Redferns had considerable skill and knowledge of the industry. Before emigrating, James was already an accomplished brickmaker back in Staffordshire. In fact, he came from a very long line of brickmakers, and a couple of his sons also took up the trade. The land they had chosen in Paparoa had everything they needed – a supply of fresh water, access by boat, which was crucial back then, public roads being non-existent, and a ready supply of reasonable clay. They built several buildings over the years, including a pugmill to mix the clay and the all-important kiln to fire the bricks and pipes, and were fully operational in the 1870’s.

Redfern Brickworks was intentionally kept small-scale because the much-needed extruder machine (which forces clay through a die template to make the required shape) they purchased was modest, measuring 2.33m long, 96cm wide, and 1.5m high. With a seemingly endless supply of premium timber in the region, namely kauri, there was little demand for bricks to build homes, but they were used to construct chimneys. The field tiles produced using their Watkinson extruder were used for drainage.

In 1908, the Brickworks was purchased by Robert Grover Quaife. By all accounts, production continued until the mid 1920’s until a fire destroyed the buildings, and the business was forced to close. The Watkinson extruder sat out in the open for many years until 1984, when it was donated to the Kauri Museum by the estate of Ansell Quaife.

The meticulous restoration of the machine was completed in 2004 by a big team of dedicated Kauri Museum volunteer engine enthusiasts. After 80 years of sitting idle, the extruder was once again brought back into full working order!

The original Redfern kiln is still standing today on private land, remaining the singular example of a 19th century kiln in the North Island..