Walkerville Lime Kilns (Walkerville South)

Examine the remains of the Walkerville Lime Kilns. The lime kilns operated from 1875 to 1926 and provided lime supplies to Melbourne's building industry.

A short walk along the beach at Walkerville rings you unexpectedly upon giant brick buttresses protruding from the cliffs like the ruins of some ancient Roman engineering works. These are all that remain of the Walkerville lime kilns. At the peak of production in the 1890s, up to eighty men were employed quarrying limestone, working the kilns, supplying timber and bagging and stacking lime. Limestone mined from the cliffs was burnt with firewood in brick lined kilns to produce quick lime. The lime was then bagged and hauled in tram carts along a 350 metre jetty which once stretched out into the bay to waiting ships. The kilns were closed in 1926 due to reduced demand, high transport costs and the replacement of quicklime by cement.

Walkerville Lime Kilns (Walkerville South)

Walkerville Lime Kilns (Walkerville South)

The Walkerville lime kilns are historically significant in that they provide evidence of the largest and longest lived commercial lime burning sites in Victoria. Six kilns (numbered 1-6 from south to north) were constructed at Walkerville. Each kiln was about 40 feet deep, brick lined and tapering to a narrow neck at the base, where a grate opened into the back of a large shed. The kilns were built separately, some distance apart, faced with local stone (granite and basalt) and each had its own storage and packing shed. The shafts were supported by a high vertical stone wall across the front, which itself was supported by two long retaining walls extending outward at an angle from each end of the vertical rear wall. At the base of the vertical facade is a brick-lined arched chamber or vault, 2. 5 m wide, 2 m deep and at least 2 m high leading to a small semicircular draw hole in the rear wall, through which the burned lime could be extracted from the shaft. The rear wall of the vault, above the draw hole is corbelled outward to accommodate the widening diameter of the shaft behind it. The corbelled brick courses are strengthened by three horizontal iron tie-beams. Socket holes for wooden beams can be seen in the inside faces of both retaining walls, which also bear traces of the line of a sloping roof over the area between the retaining walls.

The Kilns Today- Today the remains of the six kilns at Walkerville are still discernable, but in different states of intactness. None of the kilns retain any structural remains of the front bagging areas. Parts of kiln 5 were reconstructed in 1992. A retaining wall protects the area in front of the kiln and the working area has been resurfaced with concrete. The major part of the external structure of kiln 6 has collapsed, revealing the brick internal lining of the shaft. Bricks were brought in by ship although some doubt exists as to their origin. The absence of suitable clay deposits nearby would tend to rule out local manufacture. But some bricks have been salvaged from the kilns with the markings W. B. embossed on them, possibly denoting that they were made at a small kiln at Waratah Bay. A blacksmiths forge, stables for the horses and storage sheds for the lime were situated adjacent to the kilns.

Limeburners Walk
The Limeburners Walk, which is 750m in length and takes approximately 20 minutes (one-way) to complete, links Walkerville North and South via the majestic remnants of the Walkerville lime kilns. It is a gravel surface with reasonably steep incline.

Walkerville South is located approximately 15 minutes from Tarwin Lower or Waratah Bay. The walk begins on the cliff behind the lime kilns. A short side track leads to the historic Walkerville Cemetery. Please note: This walk is sometimes closed due to its condition after heavy rain.

Pioneer Lookout Information Panels

The place for a village

The once-busy township of Waratah (now Walkerville South) occupied all available land near here in the limeburning period at the end of the 19th Century. It reminded early visitors of a small coastal village in Cornwall, England.

A road, constructed here in 1938; seriously damaged the kilns. Subsequent neglect, and fires, led to the destruction of most of the remaining buildings. Only foundations and stone walls remain today.

Fortunately an excellent collection of photos survives, as well as several first-hand accounts of Walkervilles's limeburning industry.

Walkerville Lime Kilns

Walkerville's lime industry operated from 1875 to 1926 and at its peak supported about 80 workers and their families. Today the limestone cliff has been quarried out and the town's store and original cottages have gone. While you explore the kilns and other relics, imagine the site bustling with lime workers, shopkeepers and their families.

Today, Walkerville's peaceful atmosphere and scenic bay attracts many visitors. A century ago the sea also attracted people here, but not to relax. They came to mine the limestone cliffs deposited by the sea millions of years ago. This was a small but bustling port, shipping quick lime to builders in Melbourne, Gippsland Lakes and Sydney. Walkerville's links with the sea enabled the town to play a major part in the early building of Victoria.

Discovery - Local farmer, William Miller, discovered limestone deposits at Waratah Bay in 1875. The Bright Brothers, Melbourne lime merchants and shipping agents, built the first lime burning kiln at Walkerville in 1878.

Boom era - Walkerville became one of the major suppliers of lime to Melbourne's booming building industry, transporting its quick lime by sea. Six kilns were constructed at the base of the sea cliffs. A small township soon established with a store, post office, coffee palace and cottages.

Production peaked in 1890, with 80 workers employed quarrying limestone, cutting timber and bagging and stacking lime. Between 1878-94, limestone was quarried from a 1 hectare site to produce over one million bags of lime. The kilns closed in 1926 reduced demand and high transportation costs.

No holiday working the kilns - Workers excavated the limestone from the cliff-face with picks then carted it to the kiln head in horse-drawn trolleys running on iron rails. They shovelled the limestone into the kiln between layers of firewood or coke, set it alight and allowed it to burn slowly for 2-3 days. A local teacher wrote 'When coal is used the men at the kiln-head are sometimes known to become half suffocated with the smoke, being for a time unconscious.

The resulting quick lime powder was bagged and hauled in trolleys along the jetty to steamboats for transport.

Quick Lime - Quick lime is the powder produced from the burning of limestone. Quick lime was the main ingredient in building materials such as mortar, lime cement and plaster. By the 1920s cement began to replace quick lime in the building industry.

Walkerville Lime Kilns Area Map

Walkerville Lime Kilns (Walkerville South) Map

Access for Dogs:

No dogs allowed on the beach from 1st December until the end of Easter between 9am-6pm. Dogs must be on a leash between 6pm - 9am during this period. Dogs permitted on a leash from the end of Easter until 1st December at any time of the day.

Dogs must be on-leash in the area above the kilns (Pioneer Lookout).

Review:

An interesting area to explore with impressive sights from the beach and historical information at Pioneer Lookout above the kilns. From the Walkerville South beach entrance head to the left (north) to the ruins.

From the northern end there is a path to Pioneer Lookout which overlooks the ruins and has information panels.