Bricklayer and potter, Stephen Hale was one of the earliest potters in the western Australian colony. The colony had not prospered and the population remained minimal until the gold rushes of the 1890s. The skilled people who came earlier as indentured servants were in such demand that they were soon masters in their own right developing businesses. Household needs were met for the most part by a supply of imported English wares but there were good clay deposits close to the city centre and bricks and clay pipes were made. Bricklayer Stephen Hale made earthenware pots in Guildford in the 1840s but by 1852 had set himself up as a farmer on the Beaufort River. It is probable other brick makers also made pots at this time.
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- Writers:
- Erickson, Dorothy (Dr)
- Date written:
- 2011
- Last updated:
- 2011
