Donnybrook stone

The General Post Office in Perth

Donnybrook stone is a fine to medium-grained feldspathic and kaolinitic sandstone found near the town of Donnybrook, Western Australia.^[1] It originates from the early Cretaceous (144-132 MYA) and features shale partings and colour variations which range from white to beige and pink.^[2]

Donnybrook stone is used as dimension stone in the building industry and is both a commercial name as well as a stratigraphic name.

Many public and private buildings in Western Australia feature Donnybrook stone. These include the facade and portico to the Parliament House building in West Perth, the General Post Office in Perth, the entry portal to the Fremantle Railway Station and the Police Courts building in Beaufort Street, Perth, the latter of which is constructed entirely of Donnybrook stone.

History

Gold was found in Donnybrook in the mid-1890s and was being mined there in late 1898.^[3][4]

There were up to eight quarries producing Donnybrook stone in and around the town in the 1930s.^[2] Most of these have since closed, however, in 1981 the Goldfields Quarry on the Upper Capel Road re-opened and now produces material for floor tiles and facing slabs. Several of the closed quarries are on the Donnybrook-Balingup Road.

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  Fremantle Railway Station (1907)

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  Parliament House in West Perth (1904)

References

1. ^ "Stratigraphic Units Database". Geoscience Australia. http://dbforms.ga.gov.au/pls/www/geodx.strat_units.sch_full?wher=stratno=28510. Retrieved 2009-08-30. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Donnybrook Stone". Edward de Courcy Clarke Earth Science Museum, University of Western Australia. http://www.earthmuseum.see.uwa.edu.au/__data/page/48912/Donnybrook_sandstone.pdf. Retrieved 2009-08-30. 
3. ^ "The Donnybrook Find. Encouraging Prospects". The West Australian. 5 December 1898. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3211566. 
4. ^ "The Donnybrook Goldfield". The West Australian. 6 May 1899. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3225958. 

Further reading

• Fetherston, J.M. 2007 Dimension stone in Western Australia. Volume 1: Industry review and dimension stones of the southwest region. Geological Survey of Western Australia. Mineral Resources Bulletin 23 181p
• Freeman, M.J. , Donaldson, M.J. 2004 Major mineral deposits of southwestern Western Australia - a field guide Geological Survey of Western Australia. Record 2004/17 38p