POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Sample of polished Trachyte from Bowral, NSW, 1906

Object No. C4018

This is a sample of polished trachyte quarried in the New South Wales town of Bowral in 1906. Stone columns were collected and used by the Museum for two reasons: as stands for busts of famous people and as samples of native raw materials. The Museum tested stone and timber for use in buildings, furniture and decoration. Ornamental stone is a category of dimension stone which is natural rock, generally quarried in blocks or slabs and sold in a variety of sizes and finishes depending on demand. The main categories of dimension stone include building stone, ornamental stone and monumental stone. Building stone is used for constructing buildings, though in modern times not for load bearing work as this has been superseded by steel and concrete. However building stone continued to be used for decorative purposes such as cladding and paving. Ornamental stone is used decoratively but not for load bearing applications and monumental stone, noted for its uniform structure, is used for shaping and engraving stone for statues and headstones. Technical trade training for stone and marble cutting was introduced in New South Wales between 1899 and 1892. Dimension stone has also been used for a number of industrial purposes including liners in ball and tube mills; precision plates for mounting optical instruments, balances, and other sensitive equipment; panels in electrical switchboards; and precision heavy duty rollers. The specifications of stone used for building and other purposes was largely determined by architects and construction engineers and their requirements which varied from project to project. To be useful, the stone had to be able to be extracted in large blocks free from joints and imperfections; had to be sound and durable; uniform in colour and texture; have aesthetic appeal; where necessary be capable of being polished; and be available in abundant quantities so that there should be sufficient reserves to meet future demands for maintenance and restoration work. Sandstone has been particularly used in considerable quantities in Sydney, especially for building purposes from the nineteenth to the mid twentieth century. Later, it was largely used for landscaping, garden paving and feature walls and by the 1980s restoring the heritage sandstone buildings. Traditionally sandstone was quarried in Sydney and later on the Central Coast of New South Wales. Most other sources of dimension stone were located in country areas away from major markets and were only worked intermittently as required. By the late 1970s the use of dimension stone in the construction market had declined with competition from cheaper load-bearing materiel such as steel and reinforced concrete and substituting decorative materials with precast concrete products. Curiously, the use of dimensions stone has waxed and waned with the economic climate as prestigious building projects, which tend to use more dimension stone, have only been initiated during periods of economic expansion. References Holmes, G.G., S.R. Lishmund and G.M. Oakes, "A Review of Industrial Minerals and Rocks in New South Wales", Bulletin No. 30, Department of Mineral Resources Geological Survey of New South Wales, 1978 Margaret Simpson, Curator, 2015