' THE BUILDING STONES OF ST. JOHN'S 

 CATHEDRAL. BRISBANE. 



By HENRY G. RICHARDS, M.Sc, 



Lecturer in Geology, University of Queensland. 



Read before the Royal Society of Queensland, August 26th, 1911. 



Introduction. 



Having witnessed the gro^^th of this building which is 

 likely to be a prominent feature for a long time in Brisbane, 

 and being someAvhat acquainted with the stones used in 

 its construction, the recording of available information would 

 seem to the author to serve a useful purpose. 



In the choice of the building stone, its actual mode 

 of weathering in a structure is of first importance, but 

 failing this, the practice of carrying out mechanical and 

 laboratory tests approximating as far as possible the actual 

 conditions is resorted to. While these latter tests are 

 extremely useful, that, under normal conditions, is the 

 real one. Unfortunately, records of the stones used in 

 old buildings are generally unobtainable, thus, much of 

 the information to be obtained from a studj?- of the weather- 

 ing of the stones in old structures is thereby lost ; hence 

 the importance of accurately recording the available 

 information and current opinions as to the stones at the 

 earliest opportunity. 



Stones Used in the Building. 



These have been gathered from tlu^ee Australian. 

 States, although the bulk of the material is of local origin, 

 and both igneous and sedimentary rocks have been used. 



Five different stones, of which the following is a list, 

 are contained in the structure : — 



Tuff Locality Brisbane. 



Sandstone „ Hclidon, Queensland 



Sandstone „ Sydney. 



Granite „ Harcourt, Victoria. 



Basalt „ Footscray, Victoria. 



