Local history in Moorabool

Bacchus Marsh & District Historical Society Inc.

The Chicory Kiln at Maddingley, south of the Werribee River at Bacchus Marsh, is a large brick structure that was built in 1885 for the process of drying chicory roots. They were used as a coffee additive.

In 1877 it was recorded in The Bacchus Marsh Express that Mr T.G. Pearce, in conjunction with his father, Thomas Pearce, had been growing chicory in Bacchus Marsh for the last ten years, with 12 – 20 acres being cultivated every season. That same year Pearce acknowledged Mr Le Couteur as the first local grower of this crop and as a source of information about chicory for him.

In 1885 the Pearce Brothers constructed a chicory kiln to provide a drying facility for their chicory crops which had previously been sold in a green state. This reduced both their weight and bulk for packing and transporting to Melbourne. It was described in The Bacchus Marsh Express on the 18 July 1885 as ‘a large brick erection, forming a prominent feature of the landscape, and is fitted in the best style, with root slicing disc, elevators to take the cut root to the drying floor and bagging facilities.’ The water wheel, Californian pump, centrifugal pump, wooden plough and three-tiered cultivator were all noted at the time. The kiln was constructed only about 200 metres south of the Werribee River and the chicory crop was watered by irrigation. A calico hose carried water to the crop, with each watering delivering about two inches of water. Pearce’s crop rotation involved chicory, carrots, hay and potatoes.

The Chicory Kiln at Maddingley is the largest known chicory kiln in Victoria and is the oldest remaining substantially intact example of its kind in Victoria. Built in 1885 by a professional builder, the kiln was of considerable size.