The clay soils in
the Mitcham area encouraged brick and tile manufacturing and Edgar E Walker
began “The Australian Brick, Tile & Tessellated Co” there in 1894. They
also established an agency in Sydney in 1894, and in 1895 produced their first
glazed ceramic wall tiles. In that year the company was re-formed as the
Australian Tessellated Tile Co Ltd, as bricks were no longer an interest and
began operations south-west of the Mitcham railway station. His four sons, and later grandson Geoffrey
Edgar Walker (b Mar 1917) carried on the company. A sideline of the company was the commercial supply of clay. This was eventually to become their core
business, along with glazes.
They survived the
depression of the 1890s partly because it cleverly captured a share of the expanding
market in sewerage pipes at this period, and it went on to diversify into
ceramic mosaic pavements, glazed and coloured enameled wall and hearth tiles,
faience, terra cotta work, roofing tiles, ridging finials and terra cotta roof
ornaments, urinal stalls and some other sanitary ware, swimming pool gutters,
commemorative plaques, majolica tiles, tiles with transfers on them, decorative
bathroom tiles, tiles bearing kangaroos and emus, and so on.
The
tessellated tiles were supplied to large numbers of churches, sometimes to
patterns designed for them by architects such as A A Fritsch. They
almost had a monopoly on Government work in Victoria because of the policy of
preference to local industry, and to a large degree in New South Wales, despite
the development of rivals in Fowlers and Bakewells. Amongst its more distinctive work was the Art Deco tiling of
Coles Cafeteria, Bourke Street, Melbourne, and this period, the 1920s, was
perhaps its heyday. The floor tiles of
the State Library of Victoria were also made by them.
In the 1930s there was an upsurge in the
importation of Japanese, English and German tiles, and ceramic tile bodies from
Johnsons, Richards and Pilkingtons, but the company gained a respite from the
cessation of imports between 1939 and about 1946, due to the war.
Geoffrey had studied ceramics at Stoke
Technical College but joined the Air Force in 1941 during World War II and
Flight Lieutenant Walker was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in March
1945. Discharged in November 1945, he
returned to study after the war and worked in England and the US before
returning to the family business after the war. The company never regained the initiative; it went public in
1952, but was subsequently acquired by Rocla pipes, and finally was wound
up. Rocla are Australia’s leading
manufacturer of concrete pipes.
Geoffrey and wife Constance then established
Walker Ceramics in 1955. They built a
factory in Wantirna in Victoria. They
began with what they call “glazed porcelain functional ware.” That included these ramekins. The following comes from their website.
“then specialized
floor tiles, electrical and acid-proof porcelains and salt glazed tiles.
Despite a fire which destroyed the factory, the company went on to produce
stoneware and porcelain bodies, often to potter's own specifications
During the 1960's,
Walker Ceramics manufactured its first filter pressed white earthenware bodies
for commercial potteries and art suppliers. During this time, the Walker
Ceramics' factory at Wantirna had become not only a place to source an
increasing range of ceramic supplies and quality clay bodies and glazes, but a
busy and lively meeting place for potters exchanging information.
By the mid 1970's
more than 25 bodies were being produced and the market had expanded interstate
and to New Zealand. In the 1980's Walker Ceramics in association with
Greg Daly, produced the first series of instructional video tapes,
detailing many different ceramic techniques presented in Greg's workshops. In
1982 David Walker completed an Honours degree in Ceramic Technology from
North Staffordshire Polytechnic in Stoke-on-Trent (UK) and returned to
Australia to join the business.
Today they produce
and sell in excess of 60 Ceramic bodies , 200 plus glazes , Liquid Opaque
Underglazes, Design Colour Concentrates and all the tools and equipment the
pottery market requires. As well as their own shop in Canberra the distribution
network extends to all major centre's of Australia and Singapore, Indonesia and
the United Kingdom - where the pottery community are appreciating the
specialist qualities of Australian made and developed ceramic bodies, glazes
and colours.
When Walker
Ceramics moved to the Wedgwood factory in Croydon in 1988, they completely
re-built and enlarged the clay production facility established at Wantirna. A
new laboratory was equipped and specialist staff were trained for Research and
Development and quality control. This began at the clay pits with testing and
stockpiling and continued in the laboratory. All clays are continuously checked
in the laboratory for plasticity, colour, shrinkage and porosity by gradient
furnace firing and most importantly, the testing of bodies for expansion
standards to ensure the matching of glazes.
In 2005 David Walker
was approached by John Feeney of Sandisons in Queensland with an offer to
continue the Feeney Clay tradition. A new company called Feeneys Clay was
started then moved from the Wulkuraka site, completely re-furbished and
upgraded and established in a "new" factory at West Ipswich.
The
business then went under further changes in 2008 - David Walker decided to
continue the Walker tradition in Ceramics and purchased Walker Ceramics
outright. A new manufacturing facility was set up for all the Walker White
bodies when the business moved from Lusher Rd in Croydon. When the Sales and
distribution factory was established in Croydon South the traditional fireclay
based bodies were reformulated to be made at the new Feeneys Clay plant in West
Ipswich Queensland. This range is now out in the marketplace and already
gaining loyal support.
Between 1977 and
1996 Walker Ceramics presented a Walker Ceramic Award annually to Graduating
Ceramics students from around Australia. This was exhibited at the prestigious
Victorian Arts Centre from December to January each year and enabled the
students to have an opportunity to exhibit their talents to a broad range of
public from throughout Australia and overseas. The Walker Ceramic Award
Collection of all the winners and carefully selected pieces from each years
exhibition were on permanent display in the Walker ceramic Gallery in Croydon,
Victoria until 2008 when David Walker put the entire collection on Permanent
Loan to Manningham Art Gallery in Doncaster. This enables ceramists, students
and the public at large to view this wonderful collection in this public
space.”
