The West End Cemetery is Townsville's oldest known cemetery, serving the area from 1868 to 1902. The site is significant for both it's social and aesthetic value to past, present and future generations, and as a valuable source of historical information on the development of Townsville and North Queensland.
West End Cemetery contains many substantial headstones of quality design and craftsmanship, which illustrate trends in Queensland monumental architectural from the 1860s to the early 20th century. The oldest headstone in the cemetery dates from 4 March 1868. Materials used include marble, sandstone, granite and a concrete and pebble mix.
The first marble headstones were imported from Carrara in Italy. After the beginning of the Second World War in 1939, marble from Ulam near Rockhampton was used. Marble is a rock resulting from metamorphism of sedimentary carbonate rocks, most commonly limestone dolomite. White marble has been prized for its use sculptures since classical times. This preference has to do with it's softness, which made it easier to carve, relative isotropy and homogeneity, and a relative resistance to shattering. On the Mohs scale, marble's hardness is rated 2-3.
Sandstone, which was not available locally, was brought from Helidon Quarry near Toowoomba, Coffs Harbour in New South Wales and from around Sydney. Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar. Although its resistance to weathering varies, sandstone is easy to work with, making it a common building and paving material, which has been used since prehistoric times for construction, decorative art works and tools. On the Mohs scale, sandstone's hardness is rated 6-7.
The only local material identified is granite from Magnetic Island and pink granite from Hervey Range and Castle Hill. Granite is a coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies underground. Granite is nearly always massive (lacking any internal structures), hard, and tough. These properties have made granite a widespread construction stone throughout human history. On the Mohs scale, granite's hardness is rated 6-7.
More recent headstones and graves are made from cast concrete and are less ornate. Cyclones, vandalism and neglect have caused damage to the headstones, however it is weathering over time that has had the most widespread impact.
Chemical Weathering
The weathering of rocks by chemicals is called chemical weathering. Rainwater is naturally slightly acidic because carbon dioxide from the air dissolves in it. Minerals in rocks may react with the rainwater, causing the rock to be weathered. Some types of rock are not easily weathered by chemicals. For example, granite and gabbro are hard rocks that are weathered only slowly. Still some of their minerals do react with the acids in rainwater to form new, weaker substances that crumble and fall away. When fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas are burned, carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide escape into the air. These dissolve in the water in the clouds and make the rainwater more acidic. When this happens, we call the rain 'acid rain'. Acid rain makes chemical weathering happen more quickly. Buildings, statues and in this case headstones made from rock are damaged as a result. The impact is greater when the rock is softer.
Physical Weathering
Physical weathering is caused by physical changes such as changes in temperature, freezing and thawing, and the effects of wind, rain and waves. When a rock gets hot it expands a little, and when a rock gets cold it contracts a little. If a rock is heated and cooled many times, cracks form and pieces of rock fall away. Wind, rain and waves can all cause weathering. The wind can blow tiny grains of sand against a rock. These wear the rock away and weather it. Rain and waves can also wear away rock over long periods of time. Water expands slightly when it freezes into ice. If water gets into a crack in a rock and then freezes, it expands and pushes the crack further apart. When the ice melts later, water can get further into the crack and the process is repeated.
Your Tasks
Compare the weathering that has occurred at the Marble (Keiry), Sandstone (Hodel) and Granite headstones (on each side of Keiry) at GZ.
- Compare and describe what effects of weathering you can see on the three types of headstones.
- What type of weathering do you think has caused this change?
- Which headstone has the most obvious effects of this type of weathering?
- Given what you've read in the description, is this in keeping with what you observe at GZ?
- Please post a photo of yourself or something that identifies you at the cemetery as proof of your visit.
You may log a find immediately but your answers must be provided within 7 days otherwise your log may be deleted.