BUILDING STONES

Evening Post, Issue 86, 8 October 1936, Page 17

BUILDING STONES

NEW ZEALAND PRODUCTS

EXHIBITS IN THE MUSEUM

Rocks form the solid material of th« earth's crust From an economi« point of view probably those rocks which are most important are'those which can be used as building stones Rocks selected as building stones lot exterior facings must be able to withstand the ordinary agencies of the weather and should be attractive, in appearance. Attractive stones which do not last well as exterior facings may, however, be made good use of in interior decorating.

New Zealand, up to the present, has made very little use of her deposits of natural building stones in spite of the fact that enormous quantities of . highclass stones are available. Recently, the. Dominion Museum, has acquired a very fine collection of large polished pieces representative of some of the finest stones found in this country. These have now been-placed on display and should prove of considerable interest to everybody Some of these stones are very attractive indeed, notably a speckled granite from Karamea, and marbles from Hanmer, Collinswood, and Whangarei. Applications of some of these stones may be seen in the museum building itsell Wilsonite is the stone used for the exterior facings of the building. It occurs in enormous deposits in the Putaruru district These deposits are difficult of explanation; but a theory has been advanced that they result from the sudden codling of great clouds composed of superheated gases, and charged with particles of Incandescent rock, which issued forth as great waves from volcanic vents ur much the same way as the cloud that destroyed the city of St Pierre, at the base of Mt. Pelee, in the Island, of Martinique, during the disastrous eruption, of 1902. In the interior of the museum building several different varieties of Whangarei marble have been used to decorate the main entrance vestibule arid -the staircases leading to the Nationa^ Art Gallery. The well-known Bluff' gabbro isv represented in the museum; exhibit very fine polished slab. Other stones which should be .capable of : extensive application in the building, industriel include a .beautiful green phonolit* from Blueskiri, near Dunedin, a Cipallino marble from Doubtful Sound.rand an example of polished obsidian-from Mayor Island. : • / .