A Passion for colonial bricks

llan Hackett has spent five decades of his life passionately researching, recording and collecting bricks from the early years of British settlement. Among his thousands of bricks, Hackett has English bricks dating back to the late 1700s, as well as bricks that came with the First Fleet that were used to build the first kiln, which enabled the colony to start making bricks.

The collection has now been passed on to Th or Dorsett, a young brick enthusiast with a passion for Australian convict bricks, who plans to open a museum for the public. ‘He has a driving passion to look for new finds and is deeply interested in research,’ says Hackett. ‘We regularly discuss bricks and their