EAGLE-EYED CLOVIS SASSINE PLUCKS a pair of fused fl agons from the production line of a glass-
manufacturing works in the Sydney suburb of Waterloo in 1989. The alchemy of fashioning glass
from the base ingredients of lime, sand and soda through intense heat was fi rst practised by the
ancient Egyptians, and the process has changed little in the intervening 4500 years. Additions
to the basic recipe create variations in the finished look or function of glass and these formulas
remain closely guarded secrets. Photographer Brent Melton documented many facets of Australian
glassmaking for this story – from the noise, grime and heat of large-scale industrial processes –
such as the Australian Consolidated Industries (ACI) bottle-making factory where Clovis worked- to the deft skills of traditional glassmakers who hand blew individual pieces. ACI, one of the
world’s largest glass-container makers, extinguished its furnaces in 1997 and moved out of the city;
the former factory site is now a desirable patch of Sydney real estate, known as Crown Square.
Forged by fire
PHOTOGR APH BY BR ENT MELTON AG 17, JAN–MAR 1990, PAGES 82–103130 Australian Geographic
R EWIND