The manufacture of firebricks is believed to have begun in Bacchus Marsh in the 1880s when William Thomas Wittick in partnership with a Mr Ackers, and later a Mr Telford, quarried a rich deposit of fire clay at Darley. In 1902 financial assistance was provided by David Mitchell a significant businessman and contractor from Melbourne and the business then expanded and became a major supplier of refractories for gas works in Melbourne, with side lines in moulded fire bricks for foundries and smelting furnaces and complete kiln lines for potteries. The business traded under the name Darley Firebrick Company and later as Darley Refractories Ptd Ltd and was in business for over 100 years. The tile (aka refractory) described in this record was possibly produced for use in very high temperatures (in excess of 1,000°F [538°C]) encountered in modern manufacturing. More heat-resistant than metals, they are used to line the hot surfaces found inside many industrial processes. The date the tile was produced is unknown.Rectangle shaped ceramic tile'Darley 26' inscribed within a circledarley firebrick company, refractory materials, wittick family bacchus marsh, william thomas wittick 1857-1939, darley refractories ptd ltd