From The Past

This is the largest of two Lime Kilns that have been fenced off and preserved in the suburb of Mindarie where we live. The land was pastoral land in 1874. However in 1985 the land was sold by the Clarkson family to the Land Developers for residential property.
The history "From The Past" in Mindarie lies in these two Lime Stone Kilns that have been fenced off and preserved as historical value, pictured above is the largest of the two Kilns just down the road from where we live, i walk past these Kilns everyday.

The Coopers Kilns Of Mindarie, as they are known today sit in Coopers Park Mindarie, they were built by Henry Cooper and his three sons in 1932, they were strategically located to take advantage of the prevailing winds and the abundance of high quality Lime Stone close to the coast.
During this time Lime production played an important role in the gold industry and especially in Western Australia's Gold Fields.
The Kilns also played a significant role in providing much needed work for the community during the economic depression which Australia was in the midst of during this time. The kilns provided work for over thirty men.

The Limestone was quarried and then fired in the Kilns for 2-3 days at extremely high temps. (above 880 Celsius) in order to produce the Lime.
Both Kilns operated in tandem, whilst one was fired the other was being emptied and loaded.
The Lime was collected from the openings at the bottom of the Kilns and then bagged for delivery to Fremantle from there the bagged Lime was transported to the Goldfields, where it was used as a fluxing agent in Gold extraction. Two of Henry's Sons lived nearby with their families in shacks made from Jarrah saplings and Lime bags.
The Kilns ceased production in the 1940s when the Quality Lime was exhausted.

The most interesting of Henry's employees were Albert Facey and his Father who worked as Lime Burners in 1934, Albert Facey wrote about his experience and his life living at Quinns Rocks (a neighbouring suburb) in a novel he had published
"A Fortunate Life"
This indeed would be a fair tribute to Henry Cooper and his Kilns,
"From The Past"