The story of Sydney’s brickmakers and their craft can be traced back to the first weeks of European settlement with the arrival of the first Fleet in January 1788. As an alternative history of Sydney, The Brickmasters explores the impact of social, economic, technological and architectural change on one of Australia’s most historic and vital industries. It also examines the profound effect on brickmaking figure of William King Dawes, 1898-1981. Austral Bricks (1908) and its parent, Brickworks Limited (1934) can rightly lay claim to be the oldest surviving and most influential manufacturers of clay products in Australia since federation in 1901. This comprehensive, beautifully illustrated and carefully researched book sheds new insights, provides new knowledge and answers the question: why brick?