1840's Lime Kiln Replica - Rye Foreshore, opposite 2543 Point Nepean Rd, Rye, Mornington Peninsula, VIC

Set just behind the sand dunes at the base of Whitecliffs Lookout, a replica Lime Kiln has been built by the Rotary & Lions Clubs of Rye in 1989.  It has been sited where once the historic ‘Devine Kiln’ stood, as well as an old loading point where bullock teams would drag wagons loaded with bagged lime into the shallow waters, transfer it to barges, then to small sailing ships, to be transported to a special Limecraft Dock which was constructed c 1849, near King Street in Melbourne.

The following transcript affords an interesting insight into the early lime production methods in the region:

” . . . To the Editor of the Argus

Sir, – In the interesting article, “The Gippsland Mystery,” on Saturday, by Ernest McCaughan, it is stated that “a party of five whites and ten blacks were sent out under the leadership of De Villiers, an ex police officer who kept the extraordinary named No Good Damper Inn.  A propose of this, a story was related to me by the late Robert Rowley, then of Rye (a very old colonist who had known Buckley, the wild white man).  The story, which may be of interest, that that about the year 1840 lime was being burnt about Sorrento and Rye.  A layer of sheoak logs was laid on the ground, then a layer of limestone.  Another layer of logs, then again stone, and so on, until there was a considerable stack.  Fire was next applied.  By this rough and ready, though wasteful, system, lime used in the building of early Melbourne was then burned.  The lime was then “slacked’, afterwards sieved, through a fine sieve, and forwarded to Melbourne by ketch.  One of these old wind jammers had the misfortune to go aground near the site of Frankston.  The lime was taken off undamaged, stacked, and carefully covered a little way from the shore.  A number of blacks were in the vicinity.  They had had some little experience of the white fellow’s flour.  When they found the lime, sieved and done up in small bags under a tarpaulin, they were sure they had got the genuine article in plenty.  So they mustered in force, took away all they possibly could, and, fearing pursuit, did not stop running till they put about 12 miles between them and the stack of lime.  The blacks then mixed their flour with water upon their ‘possum rugs and put the dough in the ashes to bake, the result being spoiled rugs and bad damper.  In the words of Mr. Rowley, “they called that place Dandenong,” which means “no good damper.” – 

Yours &c.   J.L. Brown

Sandringham, Sept. 8 . . . “

Source:  Exerpt – ‘Argus’ – Article “No Good Damper Inn.” – published 9 Sep 1924

The establishment of Melbourne, Victoria in 1835, saw the lime deposits of the Mornington Peninsula in high demand.  Limestone was quarried, burnt, and bagged, ready for transport across Port Phillip Bay to rapidly expanding city.  Lime was an essential ingredient with which to make the mortar that held the bricks together as well as the render which coated the bricks  . . .

“The constant demand for lime and the great superiority of the Nepean Limestone has induced J.P. Fawkner to procure a large quantity of that useful article.  It will be sold a the wharf at £2 per ton to persons wishing to purchase.”

Source:  ‘The Port Phillip Patriot and Melbourne Advertiser’ – Advertisement – published 22nd July 1839

Members of the failed Collins Settlement of 1803-04 (of which J.P. Fawkner was one) were the first to find limestone on the Mornington Peninsula.  Limestone proved to be plentiful in the ancient sand dunes of the peninsula which stretch from the Selwyn Fault, westward.  Incidentally, the Selwyn Fault is a geological fault line that runs from Frankston, down the coast to Rosebud, and then across to Cape Schanck.

” . . . The southern shore of Port Phillip is a singular long narrow tongue of land, running out from the foot of the range of which Arthur’s Seat is the most conspicuous point.  I infer from the limestone prevailing in it, and containing shells of recent species, that it was once much beneath its present level; in fact, that it stops up what was formerly a broad mouth of the bay, leaving only the present narrow entrance at the western extremity.  Over its surface are scattered hills from one to two hundred feet in height, in the valleys between which was found some light sandy soil supporting at this time rich grass, and at various places a thin growth of Banksia, Eucalypti, and Casuarina, all stunted and showing symptoms of having been roughly used by the south wind . . . “

Source:  Excerpt – ‘Discoveries in Australia – Vol 1’ – by J. Lort Stokes Commander, R.N. – dated 18th November 1838 – published 1846

Essentially, the process of burning lime required two ingredients:  easily accessible lime deposits plus fuel with which to burn it.  The Mornington Peninsula had ample reserves of both.  Lime could be found in huge quantities, just 30 – 45 cm below the surface.  The once abundant ‘Drooping She-Oak‘ and ‘Banksia’ was used to burn the quarried lime as they proved perfect due to their hot-burn quality:

” . . . All the peninsula at that time was beautiful open sheoak forest.  The elder trees had been felled by the limeburners, but young ones had grown in their stead, and there was a thick sole of grass on the ground, and very little encroachment of ti-tree, which now covers everything.  That wretched lime-burning business has destroyed all the sheoaks, and the ti-tree has done well perhaps to cover up the deserts which their removal left.  Up through the oaks (where now is ti-tree) the learned and literary gentleman climbed, and from the heights he saw suddenly as we see to-day, and doubtless with an equal joy, that broad expanse of the outer deep pouring its long wash upon our Australasian shores, and sounding forth that voice —

“Of days of old, and days to be,”

which never changes, however it may vary its tone.  There we see it, the living, strong, and mighty sea — to eastward a broad and placid lake, to westward — the ocean . . . “

Source:  Excerpt – Australasian (Melbourne, Vic) – Article ‘Picturesque Victoria – Sorrento’ – by Telemachus – published 7th January 1888

Hence, commercial lime burning became the first industry of the region.  Logging of she-oak was also a prime industry of the time.  Lime burning would thrive until c 1879, the year that David Mitchell opened the famous Lilydale lime kilns.  From this time the industry began to slow and would eventually cease altogether in the early years of the 20th century.

Lime kilns were generally built into a hillside, consisting of a tall single shaft of from 6 m up to 15 m in height.  The shaft would be loaded firstly with some 90 cm of kindling → then a layer of larger pieces of wood → and finally with alternate layers of limestone at 45 cm thick, and timber at 30 cm thickness.  At the base of the shaft, a brick lined hearth with a doorway would provide access to the resultant ‘Quicklime’, which would be bagged under a sheltered opening, ready for transportation.

Transporting lime across water was in itself, was a hazardous pursuit:

” . . . Shipwrecks and lime take on a special association in that lime is inherently dangerous due to its volatile chemical nature.  The addition of water to lime, the process which creates hydrated lime and is generally referred to as ‘slaking’, triggers a reaction which starts slowly but generates enough heat to raise the temperature to a point where the reaction will proceed at an alacritous rate.  This heat can be sufficient, under certain conditions, to precipitate the ignition of wood or other combustible material.  Consequently the accidental slaking of stored shipboard lime can have disastrous repercussions, a fate epitomised by the sinking of the Victoria, a lime boat owned by John Cain, a prominent Rye lime burner, which burnt out totally in 1890 while moored at Napier Wharf in Footscray due to a fire in the lime cargo . . . “

Source:  Excerpt – ‘The Lime-Buming Industry in Victoria: An Occupance Approach’ – by Jane Harrington – Australasian Historical Archaeology, 14, 1996

Lime burning and logging would change the ecology of the Mornington Peninsula forever – as the wood of the She-oak and Banksia were exploited, the soft, grassy landscape that was the understorey of the these forests, as well as the swamp ecology and gums → were gradually replaced with the Tea-Tree that we see today . . .

A delightful picnic area abuts this fascinating peak into the first industry of the region.

Helpful Hints:

– Located approximately 1.3 km from the Rye Town Centre – obtain Directions here

– Accessible from the Beach

– Located at the Western End of the Bay Trail

Discover Rye:

– Points of Interest

– Things to Do

– Dining Out

– Shopping

– Places to Stay

– Facilities available at Rye include:

– Picnic Tables

– Sheltered Pavilions

– Barbecues

– Public Toilets