Robert Irving

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A TRACHYTE WALK IN CENTRAL SYDNEY

Below is an excerpt from the walk described in the book.

This walk visits some of the most outstanding Sydney examples of trachyte in streetscapes, architecture, monuments and decoration.  It also includes a few other places of historical or visual interest that the keen-eyed observer will pass on the way.  The walk, with highlights indicated by bold numbers linked to the accompanying map, traces a route from Wynyard station to Town Hall station. 

Begin at the York Street

What is trachyte and how did it come to be the unsung hero of Sydney’s building stones?

The answer is found in this fascinating story of how a hard stone quarried in the New South Wales Southern Highlands became the city’s most important stone after sandstone.

The title provides an apt description: trachyte was Sydney’s hard rock.  Sandstone with all its virtues was the premier building stone of Sydney’s early and middle years but trachyte had qualities sandstone lacked and so it perfectly complemented

The cultural history of trachyte

Including a trachyte walk in Sydney city

a new book by

Robert Irving, Ron Powell, Noel Irving