Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2021L01306:reg:48:p1
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2021L01306
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 48 (pt 1/2)
Character Range: 89938–92884

48   https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/255259509 Note: we believe this date is incorrect as the building was not constructed until 1931 and the landscape is too mature.

  The first parts of the Institute, the northern and southern basements, were ready for occupation in January 1930, though the actual occupation did not take place until after mid-February because of lingering dampness in both areas. Completion of the construction phase eventually occurred either towards the end of the year or in the first months of 1931; fitting out of the building was to drag on for several more years. Erected on reinforced concrete foundations, the new building consisted of two sections, an administrative section at the front and two museum blocks at the rear. The museum blocks were 'constructed with steel frame enclosed in concrete and filled in with brickwork faced with freestone'; the administrative section was simply built of bricks and faced with freestone. The roofs of the museum blocks were constructed of steel girders, while the administrative section had a flat roof made of reinforced concrete and covered with bituminous felt and gravel. Floors made of jarrah or tallow were provided in the museums, their galleries and certain parts of the administration block. All of the joinery in the Institute – doors, bookcases, etc – consisted of black bean or cedar. Double-glazed windows were installed in the museum blocks and the window-frames throughout the building were of steel or bronze.49

  The museum blocks were essentially large halls with basements underneath, but the administration block was a far more complex structure internally. It consisted of:

   Basement containing osteology room, boiler room, fan rooms, lavatory, strong room, and elevator over storage space …

   Ground floor containing entrance hall with attendant's booth, and stall, anthropology room [northern side facing quadrangle], histology room [northern side at front], director's room [southern side at front], secretary's room and waiting room [both southern side], research room [southern side], lavatories, library and lecture room, two staircases and elevator connecting with upper floor …

   First floor containing dissection room, osteology room, artist's and photographer's room with dark room, six research rooms, cinema projection and rewinding rooms … 50

  The new building exhibited a number of special external and internal features that were intended to give it the impressive character that Butters had wanted for it. On the outside, the walls were faced with Hawkesbury sandstone that had been quarried near Gosford, NSW. This stone facing rose from a 30-centimetre-wide panel of Tarana red granite at the base. Morris and Casboulte had deliberately chosen this type of granite for its 'warmer colour-effect', in preference to the 'colder greys' of more common types of granite. Granite was also used in the construction of the front