104 BUILDING STONES OF QUEENSLAND. 



The stone has been used in the bed blocks on the abut- 

 ments of the Victoria Bridge (1894-97)*, in the base of the 

 Executive Building (1901-05) together Avith alternate 

 courses of the Mt. Crosby granite, in Shaw and Sons' build- 

 ings (1904) in Queen Street, in George St. entrance to the 

 Government Printing Office (1912), in the front steps and 

 side steps of the administrati\ e block at the Central 

 Technical College (1912-14), in the base of the foundation 

 stone of the proposed new Town Hall in Albert Square, as 

 kerbing stones along the recently relaid tram lines in Queen 

 and George Streets, and to a large extent all o\ er Brisbane 

 as pitchers about fire-plugs. 



As to its general weathering properties no exception 

 can be taken except the oxidation effect of the pyrites 

 which in itself is very serious. The stone used in the steps 

 at the ))ase of Queen Victoria's statue was carefully worked 

 over, the pyrites chiselled out and the holes subsequently 

 filled with cement. The advantage of doing this is realised 

 after an insjiection of the stone in the base of the Executi\e 

 l)uilding alongside and the base of the adjoining George 

 Street fence. The rapidity of oxidation of the pyrites 

 is rather surprising and in the space of a few months the 

 effect is quite pronounced, and it becomes increasingl3' so 

 for some time at least. 



The Enoggera granite looks better rock-faced than 

 patent-hammered as it is naturally a light grey fine-grained 

 granite and patent-hammering, owing to the crushing 

 effect, results in the colour of the stone becoming lighter. 



For the purposes of pitching and kerbing the stone is 

 an excellent one, being naturally very tough — especially 

 the hornl>lende-bearing material — ^and its fine-grained 

 character is an advantage, as it resists abrasion better than 

 coarser-grained granite. 



This stone has not been tested for resistance to crush- 

 ing but it is certain to give high results. During last year 

 samples of Enoggera granite and Bowral " trachyte " were 

 subjected to sand-blast tests to determine the resistance to 

 abrasion. The tests were conducted in the Engineering 

 Department of the University, and the Enoggera granite 



* li.ttes in l)rackets after biiilding.s indicate the year.s of erection. 



