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A history of Monier and Wunderlich
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The Monier Story
For more than 60 years, Monier has been Australia’s leading roof tile brand, and its heritage dates way back to the mid 19th century when Joseph Monier, a commercial gardener first invented and patented a wire reinforced system for his concrete flowerpots.
His invention was then acquired by a German company in 1885 and subsequently developed into an entire system for reinforced concrete known as 'Das System Monier', or 'Monierbuilt'. Although Joseph Monier did not die a rich man, his name became well known throughout Europe.
The name Monier first came to Australia in 1901 by way of another German, who established a concrete pipe manufacturing business at Darling Harbour in Sydney, using the Monier patent.
The business went through many changes and in 1936, Cement Linings Ltd was formed and became the foundation of the Monier Company. The company then changed its name to Monier Limited in 1979, by which time it had established many businesses associated with the building and construction industry, and had built manufacturing facilities throughout Australian and New Zealand.
Today, Monier is part of the CSR Bricks and Roofing group, and continues to be one of Australia’s leading suppliers of concrete roof tiles.
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The Wunderlich Story
Over 150 years ago Ernest Wunderlich and his two brothers Alfred and Otto migrated to Australia and founded the Wunderlich company. In the early days, the Wunderlich's were importers of pressed metal ceilings. However, in 1892, when a consignment of Marseille terracotta roof tiles arrived in Sydney from the south of France, and the consignee could not be found, the Wunderlich brothers saw this as an ideal opportunity to enter the roof tile market and purchased the consignment.
During this time, World War I disrupted the supply of tiles from France, so the Wunderlich’s began manufacturing their own tiles in Sydney and Melbourne in 1916.
By 1957, the Wunderlich Company had 18 clay tile factories throughout Australia and New Zealand, while continuing to manufacture other building products such as their pressed metal ceilings.
In 1969, CSR acquired the Wunderlich clay roof tile business, which was subsequently purchased by Monier in 1983. Monier in turn was 100% acquired by CSR Ltd in 1994, and to date, continues to manufacture premium quality Wunderlich Terracotta roof tiles at its modern manufacturing facility in Vermont Victoria.
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