Adbri, formerly Adelaide Brighton Cement, is an Australian manufacturer of

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...

, lime and dry blended products. Adbri operates manufacturing and distribution facilities in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

, and

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. Associated brands and companies include Cockburn Cement, Sunstate Cement, Northern Cement, Independent Cement & Lime, and Building Product Supplies. The company's Geelong Cement works, at Fyansford, was closed in 2001. The company delisted from the

Australian Securities Exchange Australian Securities Exchange Ltd (ASX) is an Australian public company that operates Australia's primary Exchange (organized market), securities exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange (sometimes referred to outside of Australia as, or c ...

in 2024 following CRH becoming a majority shareholder in the company.

Mining and processing facilities

* Angaston plant *

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

plant * Klein Point, limestone quarry *

Rapid Bay Rapid Bay is a locality that includes a small seaside town and bay on the west coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia. It lies within the District Council of Yankalilla and its township is approximately 100 km south of the stat ...

limestone quarry

History

William Lewis, a Welsh immigrant, established

lime kiln A lime kiln is a kiln used for the calcination of limestone (calcium carbonate) to produce the form of lime called ''quicklime'' (calcium oxide). The chemical equation for this reaction is: CaCO3 + heat → CaO + CO2 This reaction can tak ...

s in 1880 on an allotment near the corner of

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

and Shoreham Roads,

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. Several kilometres south, what is now Marino to Reynella and Hallett Cove, were rich

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

deposits. The rocks formed part of the great

Precambrian The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of t ...

limestone formations known geologically as the Brighton Series. Two years later, Lewis built a larger kiln, closer to the limestone deposits, fifteen feet square and twenty feet high. So began the Brighton Cement Works, which were officially opened on 12 December 1882. There was a bright future for the production of local cement, as at that time, South Australia was importing 8,000 tons of

portland cement Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world as a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar (masonry), mortar, stucco, and non-specialty grout. It was developed from other types of hydraulic lime in England in th ...

a year. But the promising start soon faded, with Lewis closing the works in 1883 due to poor sales, attributed to the local product being too expensive and not as good quality as the imported cement. However, other colonists took up the challenge. Brompton brickmaker, William Shearing became involved. Some years later, a

syndicate A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies, corporations or entities formed to transact some specific business, to pursue or promote a shared interest. Etymology The word ''syndicate'' comes from the French word ''syndic ...

including

John Howard Angas John Howard Angas (5 October 1823 – 17 May 1904) was an Australian pioneer, politician and philanthropist. Early life and education John Howard Angas was the second son of George Fife Angas and his wife Rosetta née French. He was born in New ...

and Simpson Newland bought the Works. In 1896, quality of the local cement appeared solid, with the product being used in the construction of the Happy Valley Reservoir. By 1900 the company had and were selling over 3,500 tons a year. A major setback occurred on 7 November 1909, when the works were consumed by fire. Carting rock and coal was a significant task, with horse and dray being a familiar sight. In 1913, the company owned 74 horses. Stablehands began at 4 am with grooming and feeding. Drivers were ready at 6:45 am for the hour trip from the Works to the city carrying cement, returning via Bromptom, where coke was loaded. Horse-drawn trolleys were also used to cart additional stone from the Reynella quarries to the Reynella railway station, to be freighted to the Marino site by rail. Eventually the Reynella horses were replaced by the

Flying Fox ''Pteropus'' (suborder Yinpterochiroptera) is a genus of megabats which are among the largest bats in the world. They are commonly known as fruit bats or flying foxes, among other colloquial names. They live in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Aust ...

. This labour-saving aerial ropeway became somewhat of a tourist attraction. The Brighton Cement works moved to Angaston in the 1950s. Brighton Cement merged with Adelaide Cement Company to become Adelaide Brighton Cement in the 1970s.

General references

* *

References

External links

Adelaide Brighton Cement website
{{S&P/ASX 200 Companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange Mining companies of Australia Cement companies of Australia Manufacturing companies based in Adelaide Australian companies established in 1882 Lime kilns in Australia