Submission by John Gibson MIEAust CPEng NER and Michael Clarke FIEAust, Engineering Heritage Sydney.
Engineers Australia, Sydney President Julie Mikhail FIEAust recently unveiled a plaque at Moruya Quarry Park to recognise four quarries with an Engineering Heritage Marker.
The quarries have a long and proud history, having provided the granite for many iconic structures, including the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Sydney Cenotaph in Martin Place and the colonnade for Sydney’s General Post Office.
In presenting the Marker and plaque to Eurobodalla Shire Council, Mrs Mikhail acknowledged the community members who worked at the quarries and the family members who supported them.
“Today, while celebrating this most significant part of the State’s heritage we also celebrate not only the prominent people associated with the quarries, but the men who did the work, and the wives and families who supported them,” she said.
Over many years, Eurobodalla Shire Council worked in cooperation with the Rotary Club of Moruya to establish its sensitively landscaped Quarry Park to ensure that the important heritage of the site would not be forgotten.
Other guest speakers included State Member for Bega and Minister for Transport and Infrastructure The Hon Andrew Constance, President of the Rotary Club of Moruya Ron Chesher and Scottish historian Bill Glennie, who flew in for the ceremony.
Bill Glennie, who for many years has been researching the contribution of Scottish and Italian stonemasons to the building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, said that the famous bridge’s pylons need to be cleaned to showcase the granite’s beauty.
“Time, has taken its toll and Bradfield, who referred to the pylons as ‘the Acropolis of Sydney’, would be dismayed – we need to clean the pylons so that once more the Moruya granite might sparkle in the Sydney sun,” Mr Glennie said.
On the bank of the river, visitors can relax inside the John Gilmore Pavilion (a memorial to the original quarry manager) and learn about the quarries and their significance.
The park includes a riverside board walk, information panels, a timeline pathway, gas barbecues, rock features from the quarries, parking and toilet facilities.
A BBQ lunch concluded the ceremony, with many continuing on to inspect Abernethy Lathe, which turned the granite columns of Sydney's GPO and is displayed next to the Historical Society’s building.
Image: Official party unveiling interpretive panel (Julie Mikhail FIEAust, President Engineers Australia, Sydney, third from left).