Brisbane has one main building material and it’s Brisbane Tuff. You can move suburbs, change decades, renovate, demolish, paint over, and it’s still there staring back at you like, “yeah mate, me again.”
Most of it was hacked straight out of the Kangaroo Point cliffs (Turrbal and Jagera Country) in the 1800s, dragged across the Brisbane River (Maiwar) by convict labour, and stacked into the bones of the city. Churches, retaining walls, cemeteries, stairs, cuttings, civic buildings, all built from the same volcanic leftovers that were sitting right there the whole time.
I’ve been photographing it around Kangaroo Point, Woolloongabba, Fortitude Valley (Meanjin), Lutwyche Cemetery, and a few other places where the city’s pretending it isn’t old. The colours jump between pink, grey, and this weird honey tone depending on weather, age, and how much Brisbane has tried to ignore it.
Posting a bunch of photos because once you notice Brisbane Tuff, it’s impossible to unsee. If anyone knows obscure tuff spots, forgotten quarries, or has stories tied to it, drop them below. The stone isn’t going anywhere.
Posted by ComprehensiveShine82
1 Comment
I had no idea about this stone, it really is everywhere. I guess its our version of limestone in perth.