University Cloister Walkway II

A gallery section of “The Old Quadrangle, situated in the centre of the Melbourne University Parkville Campus, was designed in the Tudor Gothic style. It took...
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A gallery section of “The Old Quadrangle, situated in the centre of the Melbourne University Parkville Campus, was designed in the Tudor Gothic style. It took six major construction efforts to create the building the University community sees today. Building began in 1854 but the Quad was still incomplete in 1857 when construction ceased, leaving a U-shape – not a quadrangle at all – until the missing South Wing was added over a century later in 1970. The South Wing, though built a long time after the completion of the main part of the building, nonetheless adhered to the architect F.W White’s original gothic vision. Tasmanian sandstone was used to build the Old Quadrangle, not local sandstone. Repairs made to the crumbling decorative stonework of the Old Quad were necessary in the mid 1990s, but the original Tasmanian sandstone used was no longer available. This necessitated 70 tonnes of suitable sandstone being imported from Germany’s Udelfanger quarries. Stonemasons working the building were some of the original agitators for the eight-hour day. They downed tools while they were building the Old Quad, an act which resulted in the birth of the Eight-Hour Movement. A plaque within the Cloisters celebrates the workers’ actions. The Old Quad is bigger than it looks – there’s a third level of cellars and basements dating from the mid-19th century below ground. The Victorians of the 19th century made a solid statement with grand building. Taken using Canon 7D. Exposure 1/250sec at f2.8, 18mm, ISO 500, 16-35mm lens. Tripod. Post-processed Lightroom 6.5.1 Note: I've learned a whole lot more about post-processing since I last posted this image some years back on ViewBug. :)

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