Part of Western Australia's rich industrial past has been recognised through the permanent inclusion of the former Bristile Kilns site on the State Register of Heritage Places.
Located opposite Ascot Racecourse, the site has long been a Perth landmark and hosts the largest group of circular kilns and tall brick chimneys still standing in Australia.
An increasingly rare industrial structure today, this early style of downdraught kiln was common in the early-mid 20th century and designed to funnel heat through the prominent chimney stacks.
For more than 70 years, the site had a significant impact on the development of the City of Belmont, initially starting as Pitman, Piercy & Co - the State's first specialised pottery works - and then as the local manufacturing site for Bristile.
The kilns produced clay pipes for the construction of sewerage, drainage and stormwater systems in the city's formative years, and later produced terracotta roofing tiles that characterise many of Perth's inter-war suburbs.
As stated by Heritage Minister David Templeman:
"These kilns, and the unusually shaped chimneys, are a prominent landmark visible from Ascot Racecourse and represent an important part of our State's manufacturing history.
"In its earliest use as a pottery factory, the site manufactured large industrial pipes to improve the metropolitan water supply and sewerage system for Perth, with later uses focused on supplying clay building products for Western Australian homes and public buildings.
"After closing in 1982, the site has remained an imposing reminder of our early twentieth century clay industry and has long been a point of interest in the community.
"I am pleased to finalise the registration of this place this to recognise its historical importance in early kiln design and manufacturing in Western Australia."
As stated by Belmont MLA Cassie Rowe:
"The Ascot Kilns are a treasured part of Belmont's heritage and I am so pleased that they will be preserved for the future.
"I have been working closely with local residents and the Minister since elected to get these kilns formally recognised for their historical value to our area and our State."
