Building Materials. 13 



as " random coursed work " it would be found effective in eccle- 

 siastical architecture as filling in between freestone or brick 

 dressings. 



Sandstones. — It would appear, that in the early days of 

 Melbourne, even prior to the gold discoveries, all parties were 

 not quite satisfied with the appearance of bluestone. Several 

 buildings were raised with a sandstone, principally obtained 

 from a quarry on the Saltwater River, near the Melbourne 

 Racecourse. The stone, however, had but little to recommend 

 it for general use, being very irregular in its composition, as 

 well as defective in color. In many parts of the colony sand- 

 stone was obtained in the neighborhood for local wants, but no 

 great effort appears to have been made to find a substitute 

 for basalt. 



The employment of sandstone in Melbourne for any building 

 of architectural pretension is of recent occurrence. Amongst 

 the earliest works may be mentioned, the Union Bank and 

 Supreme Court House, built of stone from Geelong, but of 

 inferior quality to that now quarried at Barrabool Hills. The 

 first named building was painted, as a measure of precaution, 

 and appears now to be in good preservation, but the latter is 

 now too far gone to be benefited by such a precautionary 

 operation. 



The only colonial freestone at all extensively employed, 

 excepting that now brought from Bacchus Marsh and Darley, 

 has been used at Geelong. The stone belongs to the Australian 

 carboniferous formation, and the best quality is obtained from 

 the quarries of Messrs. Holdsworth and Firth, in the township 

 of Ceres, on the Barrabool Hills. It is to be regretted, both 

 for the character of the stone and the durability of many of 

 the buildings in Geelong, that an inferior material has been 

 frequently used in preference to the best stone from the 

 Barrabool Hills quarries. 



The result of this want of care in selection is now plainly 

 exhibited, many costly buildings in Geelong giving evident 

 indications of slow decay. The color of the stone is not very 

 favorable for architectural display, the prevailing tint being a 

 greenish yellow. Nevertheless, the buildings in Geelong con- 

 trast very favorably with those of the City of Melbourne, the 

 former being sensibly cleaner, brighter, and freer from the 

 extremes of blackened bluestone and whitened stucco, which 

 prevail in the streets of our own metropolis. 



The Geelong freestone does not, however, appear to have 

 found much favor beyond its own township, and even within 



