Artists go potty over clay dump

Material that could be turned into works of art is, instead, being dumped in Mangere. Joanna Davies talks to potters about a wasted treasure.
One hundred and forty thousand tonnes of clay could make a lot of pots and vases. But, rather than turn this clay into locally-made ceramics, it is being dug from the ground, loaded onto trucks and dumped in a disused Mangere quarry.
Ontrack is excavating the rail trench in New Lynn and taking the clay to Puketutu Island to fill an excavated quarry to its original ground-level.
Oratia potter Renton Murray says the clay would be good quality for making ceramics.
"I bemoan the lack of quality clay you can get here, and it is a great shame that it is not being used for pottery," he says.
A tutor at Auckland Studio Potters, Mr Murray says the school buys most of its clay from Australia.
"But we would love to buy clay locally, and I'm sure the clay in New Lynn would be very good quality and quite valuable."
New Lynn was once the home of Auckland's pottery and ceramics scene. Many brickmakers worked in the area, as well as Crown Lynn - the company that produced most of the country's crockery in the 1960s and 70s. Mr Murray says a few members of Auckland Studio Potters have asked him whether they can use the clay from the rail trench.
"I've been meaning to have a look down there myself, and I'm not sure who we need to talk to. We've got nowhere to store that amount of clay, but if someone put their hand up and let us store some on a farm or something, then we could treat it and use it,"  he says.
"Even a couple of trailer-loads would keep someone busy over a couple of years."
Another West Auckland ceramics maker, Chris Harvey, says the clay's colour would be a problem if someone wanted to make white pottery.
"This clay is quite a dark colour, and once it was fired it would turn red. For ceramics, you'd usually want  to make a white base, which means you would need a white clay to start with."
Winstone Aggregates runs the quarry on Puketutu Island, near Mangere Bridge. General manager Bernie Chote says the clay from both the New Lynn and Newmarket railway sites is being used to restore parts of the island.
"We operate on half of the island, which is about 20ha and, as part of the lease, we have to do rehabilitation work on the island," says Mr Chote. "This is the largest clean fill site in Auckland, and it is the closest to the rail trench that is big enough to hold the amount of clay."
After being contacted by The Aucklander, Ontrack spokeswoman Brooke Donovan says clay could be made available for artists. Anyone interested in using it can contact the company. She says Ontrack also wants to commission an artwork to celebrate the completion of the station, and this will be made from the clay.
Want some clay? Phone Ontrack at 270 5529.