Welcome to Red Brick Beach. Photo courtesy of Matthew Coutts.
By Matthew CouttsYou’re down near Hope Bay and have just a few moments to enjoy a peaceful walk along one of Pender Island’s quiet beaches? Take a stroll along Bricky Bay Beach at the foot of Coast Shale Road.
This out-of-the-way destination might just be one of the island’s most unique stretches of waterfront – a quiet cove with a rocky beach dotted with the ripe red remnants of weathered bricks.
The Coast Shale Company purchased 50 acres of North Pender in 1911 that contained a particular type of shale ideal for brickmaking, according to Pender Islands Museum Society.
According to the Pender Island Parks and Recreation Commission, which oversees the site as one of its 80-plus local parks, the Coast Shale Company manufactured bricks at this site from 1912 to 1930, staffing as many as 75 men at its peak.
The plant consisted of grinders, mixers, ovens, and kilns, with a track of rails leading into the party-underground shale pit. The factory produced as many as 300,000 bricks a day.
The company eventually shuttered the operation and the plant was demolished. But countless bricks remain scattered, mostly polished down by the tides, leaving a carpet of smooth red rocks peppered along the beach.
Enjoy the view of Mayne Island, don’t take any souvenirs when you leave, and be nice to the neighbours: there may be public access, but parking is another story.
An archived photo of the Coast Shale Company’s brick factory, photo courtesy Pender Islands Museum Society.