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Sand, silica and lime  

It is quite obvious why a simple but wonderful mixture of sand, silica and lime provided Aborigines with shelter, a medium for their artwork and an inspiration for their mythology, and later became the most used building material by white men: sandstone is everywhere around and underneath Sydney.

Formed by sand grains transported by wind or water and laid in strata which are extended for kilometres, Sydney's sandstone began to form in the Triassic period about 200 million years ago.

Dramatic changes in climate and vegetation created the ideal conditions for the formation of Hawkesbury Sandstone on which Sydney is built.

As marine fossils have never been found, it is possible that once the area was a huge delta where fresh water carried sand particles.

Far later many species of plants as well as animals adapted to this new environment and eventually humans appeared.

Aborigines were the first humans using sandstone: they lived in and decorated naturally formed caves, built tools, utensils and weapons of sandstone and made particular sandstone formations their sacred sites. 

In the late 18th century the Sydney area witnessed the first British settlement: all materials used to construct the initial buildings were poor and there were not many tools or skilled men available. All properties were crown land and leased on a   short-term basis depressing incentive in building quality.

Under Governor Lachlan Macquarie's leadership things began to change.

Architects and skilled men (stone masons) arrived from Great Britain and thanks to Macquarie's grant concessions the public building programs began to proceed much faster. With the supervision of Francis H. Greenway, a convicted Architect who designed many beautiful buildings which can still be seen today, building material was standardised and the use of sandstone promoted. 

Architect and human-rights activist Ms Fiona Folan says:

- Abundancy of sandstone helped to create the Architecture of the Colony. Sandstone as a material was functional, utilitarian and authoritarian: Australia was a penal colony and convicts were used in the quarrying and cutting of stone blocks as well as in building.

Administrators began to use their resources of cheap labour and unlimited sandstone to erect permanent public constructions. 

Quarries started their activities everywhere in and around the Sydney area (Bondi, Paddington, Hunters Hill, Balmain).

The use of sandstone increased considerably and become such an important activity that in a few decades (1855-'56) The Operative Stonemasons' Society in Sydney was the first in the world to win the right to work the eight-hour day.

Sandstone has been put to a broad range of different uses: public building, roads and bridges; churches, monuments and tombstones; houses, forts and barracks, lighthouses, warehouses and cellars; schools, clocks, hotels as well as steps, walls, gatehouses and entrances. Many of these works have been decorated by fine sculpting.

This massive activity involved a large number of skilled and unskilled labourers.

Iniatially they were convicts but when the system of transporting convicts was

abolished and gold was discovered in the eastern colonies the supply of cheap labour came to an end and the building industry began to suffer.

Around 1890 more brick edifices were starting to appear and gradually the use of sandstone was reduced.

- Sandstone reserves were being depleted by the huge request of material.

Advances in building technology led to the development of alternative building materials such as bricks and then concrete block which imitated the sandstone look while being easily and economically produced. Concrete block is also lighter and readily conforms to modern building regulation making it far superior to sandstone for mass production - Ms Folan said.

Today the use of sandstone is limited to restoration of old buildings or the cladding and paving of new ones while thanks to a number of artists the ancient art of carving continues: Geoff Pollard is one of these artists.

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I met Geoff two years ago attending one of his carving courses. Carving is a challenging and difficult way to use stone. But Geoff Pollard's endless patience and his 13 year experience allowed me to achieve an acceptable result in a few hours of practice and enabled me to carve a cheerful relief to take home.

But there are those who went further than I did: while I was slamming my hammers on a punch, beside me someone else was giving the last gentle touches to a perfectly sculpted head.

Geoff Pollard, a pupil of one of Australia's major contemporary artists, Noel Gray, actually took over the classes when Gray moved from Australia to the USA.

His earliest means of expression were drawing and music. Then, to make a living, he became a piano tuner.

 His first experience with practical sculpture dates back to his return to Sydney after spending one and a half years in Europe. He got a job restoring pianos which involved carving timber.

Through this new activity he understood he had found the way to express himself artistically and soon the idea to work on sandstone challenged him.

He was looking for good stone such as Debden (NSW) or Donny Brook (WA) at the Gosford Quarries' store in Annandale when he met Noel Gray and that's how his career as a sculptor began.

A career which included collective works such as "The Cities of the Blue Mountains" (Visitor Centre - Glenbrook), restorations at the Sydney City Library (Hay Market) and lately the biggest sandstone relief  in Sydney, "Creative Energy", located at The Ritz Apartments (Cremorne).

He also exhibited his works at Parramatta and Greenwich exhibitions and in several galleries at The Rocks where some of them can still be seen.

Usually a reserved man, when asked about sculpting, he can't help but became

excited:

- Sculpting for me is feeling like a child holding his favorite toy and playing his favorite game. It gives me a sense of interaction as I am handling such a solid material as stone and it provides me with the way to explore an infinite number of rooms to my creativity - he said.

Soon our conversation turned to a more practical aspect of carving:

- Tools used in carving are essentially four: a hammer, a punch, a scutch and a few different sized chisels, - Geoff said.

- Conceptually they are the same since man began to carve stone thousands of years ago. Work on relief is relatively simple and this is where most people are encouraged to begin.

- Once you have sketched your subject on the slab of sandstone, you want to exalt it by cutting away with a wide chisel the contour around the lines you have outlined. Next step is to whittle down the useless material and the punch does this rough job - he said.

While he was talking, he got his hammer and punch and started to hit a block of stone and with some appropriate touches an old Egyptian figure appeared: amazing!

- Then you begin to define your subject and to give it an evenly carved base using the scutch," he showed me a notched chisel.

- Finally you use your chisels to refine your work, " he said pulling out from his rough leather bag a number of chisels with an octagonal handle - they are more comfortable to use than the hexagonal handle ones because of their wider shaped corners - Geoff explained.

Shortly under his expertise a section of the relief was completed.

- The last part of the job is to get your work smooth: you have to get rid of all sorts of bumps, rough spots and chisel marks by using a polishing stone like carburundum or sandpaper - he said.

The atmosphere at the classes is creative: "Teaching the class helps me to pick back up all the energies I have spent during the day, thanks to the depth and sincerity of the students involved."

According to present students Paula, Naomi, Scott, Mark and Andrew, carving classes are an exciting experience which stimulates creativity, enriches practical skills for its immediate, direct contact with sandstone and last but not least  is a very good stress relief for the physical work involved. 

The Sun was going down on the magnificent city view you have from the Annandale's workshop location, creating an intriguing interlude between skyscraper and sandstone reliefs resting on benches.

Watching students replace tools while still listening to Geoff’s last words of advice, it becomes apparent how intriguing it is to challenge oneself in this modern age with such an ancient art as stone sculpting.