Saunders Quarrying Operations
Charles Saunders began his operation in Ultimo (now Pyrmont) in 1853, the early years of the gold rush.
Saunders three principal quarries and stone working operations were known colloquially as Paradise (Miller and Bank Streets), Purgatory (Wattle Crescent and Allen Street) and Hell Hole (Wattle, Fig and Quarry Streets).
They provided high quality Pyrmont yellowblock sandstone for the construction of a great number of important buildings in Sydney including Sydney Town Hall, Sydney University, Queen Victoria Building, Sydney Hospital, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, St Mary’s Cathedral, St Andrew’s Cathedral, Great Synagogue, General Post Office, Lands Department, Colonial Secretary’s Office, Treasury Building, Registrar General’s Office, Customs House, and the Art Gallery of NSW.
As well, the firm, which also became a building contractor, erected some 50 residential and commercial buildings in Pyrmont-Ultimo. Robert Saunders adopted mechanical quarrying and stone working and was the first Sydney quarry owner to use steam power for drilling, sawing and planing the stone. For example, four of the best steam cranes, with ropes of wire rather than heavy chains and hemp, were brought in for lifting stone blocks, as were several smaller hand cranes, replacing what Saunders described as ‘the old style of gallows cranes.’.
The operation came to an end just prior to World War II as the demand for sandstone diminished, but not before Robert Saunders Jr had established a Sydney sandstone quarry in Bondi, almost all trace of which has now also disappeared.
Saunders Quarrying Operations location map.
Engineering Heritage Recognition Program
| Marker Type | Historic Engineering Marker (HEM) |
| Award Date | December 2005 |
| Heritage Significance | The Saunders operation was the largest and longest lived of Sydney's quarries. Yellowblock was used to build, and in the 21st Century to restore, Sydney's most important Victorian and Federation public buildings. |
| Nomination Document | Available here. |
| Ceremony Booklet | Not available. |
| Bronze Plaque | Available here. |
