Heritage Management in Sydney, Australia - A Case Study on the Replacement of Degraded Sandstone on Heritage-Listed Buildings

Australia is often dismissed in the world of heritage as uninteresting because of its so-called "short" history. However, Australia has a rich cultural and natural heritage spanning tens of thousands of years. Colonial and Post-Colonial heritage, in particular, demonstrates a unique response to an unfamiliar environment in a remote outpost of the British Empire. Over 200 years since colonisation and over 100 years since the formation of the Federation of Australia, the question of what to do with the monuments and structures built within the first two centuries of occupation has been much discussed. The choice between preservation and reconstruction is paramount. A building which has undergone much alteration, repair and replacement of fabric over the centuries is Sydney Town Hall, originally built with oxidising sandstone from Pyrmont in 1868. The issue of what stone to use for the replacement of the original fabric is vital to the conservation programme. This programme dictates that badly degraded stone be replaced with an equivalent or "like" material. Investigations into the location of active sources of sandstone have been undertaken, including the consideration of a non-exhausted section of the Pyrmont Quarries known as Hell Hole. Although the stone was found not to be of high enough quality for the repair of heritage buildings, this study shows the importance of finding new active supplies of sandstone for the conservation of Australian heritage.