Grampians Sandstone Pillar - Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
Posted by: 
bucketeer
S 37° 48.310 E 144° 58.341
55H E 321498 N 5813865
A pillar of standstone from the Heatherlie quarry in the Grampians near Stawell
Waymark Code: WMB1D2
Location: Victoria, Australia
Date Posted: 03/23/2011
Views: 23
This 4 metre high sandstone pillar was erected at the south east corner of the Royal Exhibition Building (
visit link) in the 1880's as a protest by local politician John Woods to show the lasting qualities of sandstone from his Stawell electorate for extensions to Parliament House, rather than the chosen New South Wales stone.
The high quality of sandstone from the Heatherlie quarry (
visit link) was eventually used in the construction of several prominent building in Melbourne including;
Post Office on Elizabeth Street
Supreme Court
Melbourne Town Hall
Taxation Office
Melbourne Museum
Public Library