Workshop To Powerhouse at Portland Cement Works, a concrete path cuts across bare ground between two industrial buildings.

01 Portland Cement WorksPortland2018

ISO 1001/1250f/8.014mm

Series · 44 prints

Portland Cement Works

Photographed 2018
Frames 44
Camera NIKON D850
Location New South Wales, Australia
Status Disused; redevelopment as 'The Foundations' creative village commenced 2017
Years 1902 to 1991
Heritage NSW SHR 01739
Architect August Scheidel
Specs 86 hectares total site · Coal-fired rotary kilns · Peak production 143,803 tons (1927)
01 ABOUT THIS SERIES

Series story

Portland Cement Works in central western NSW began as a limestone quarry in 1863 and produced lime then cement on and off from the late 1880s. The Commonwealth Portland Cement Company, formed in December 1900, completed the main works in 1902 and built the distinctive arched-window powerhouse between 1900 and 1903 - its iron girders shipped from the same English manufacturer that supplied the Eveleigh Railway Yards. The works lit Portland's streets from 1910. The Off White cement that came out of the works in the 1960s became the basis of the Portland Cement brand still used in Australia. Production ran on a dry process until 1928, then a wet process from the 1940s, then under Blue Circle Southern Cement after the 1974 BHP merger. Cement ceased in 1991; quarrying ended in 1998. Listed on the NSW State Heritage Register on 3 August 2012. The site is now owned by AWJ Civil; Guido van Helten's silo murals, painted in April and May 2018, depict six former Portland Cement workers.

03 PRINTS

Prints in this series

Hand-signed limited editions, printed from the original RAW file. Editions run from 100 down to 25 and are not reissued once they sell through.

Workshop To Powerhouse at Portland Cement Works, a concrete path cuts across bare ground between two industrial buildings.
Workshop To Powerhouse
Wash House Facing West at Portland Cement Works, light falls through clerestory windows and cuts across the concrete floor.
Wash House Facing West
Wash House at Portland Cement Works, sunlight falls in clean geometric shapes across a concrete floor.
Wash House
Testing Room at Portland Cement Works, a concrete bench runs the length of the room, covered in curled paint flakes.
Testing Room
Supervisors Office at Portland Cement Works, two arched windows filter pale light through venetian blinds.
Supervisors Office
Stove Heater at Portland Cement Works, a cast-iron stove sits alone at the centre of a wide concrete floor.
Stove Heater
Small Arches at Portland Cement Works, three arched windows line the far wall, their semi-circular fanlights filtering pale.
Small Arches
Silos at Portland Cement Works, four concrete silos stand in a row against open sky.
Silos
Raffan Mill Workshop at Portland Cement Works, a corrugated iron roof spans the workshop on rough-hewn timber beams.
Raffan Mill Workshop
Raffan Mill Boiler House at Portland Cement Works, heavy timber posts rise from a floor buried in rubble and powdered morite.
Raffan Mill Boiler House
Raffan Mill at Portland Cement Works, bare brick walls rise to a corrugated iron roof inside one of the mill buildings.
Raffan Mill
Power House West Interior at Portland Cement Works, arched windows line the western wall of the power house, their steel.
Power House West Interior
Power House Southern Interior at Portland Cement Works, light floods through five arched windows set into a concrete wall.
Power House Southern Interior
Power House Platform Side Exterior at Portland Cement Works, cream brick and pale sandstone form the rear elevation.
Power House Platform Side Exterior
Power House Platform at Portland Cement Works, an overhead crane rail runs the length of the hall, its rusted hoist.
Power House Platform
Power House Northern Interior at Portland Cement Works, a single beam of light falls from a roof ventilator and strikes.
Power House Northern Interior
Power House Full Length at Portland Cement Works, an overhead crane runs the full length of the power house,.
Power House Full Length
Power House Exterior at Portland Cement Works, the power house at Portland Cement Works stands in full sun against a clear.
Power House Exterior
Power House East Facing Exterior at Portland Cement Works, the east-facing wall of the power house stands pale against hard.
Power House East Facing Exterior
Power House Crane at Portland Cement Works, a massive industrial hall stretches deep into the frame.
Power House Crane
Power House Corner at Portland Cement Works, pale green paint peels from blockwork walls where the render has fallen away.
Power House Corner
Pipework at Portland Cement Works, a yellow steel mezzanine spans the width of the building, its walkway and staircase.
Pipework
Opening at Portland Cement Works, pale brick walls rise to a corrugated iron roof inside one of the Portland Cement Works.
Opening
Machining Workshop at Portland Cement Works, steel roof trusses span the full width of the machining workshop, their bolted.
Machining Workshop
Machine Shop Door at Portland Cement Works, a pair of timber doors sit flush against a pale brick facade.
Machine Shop Door
Laboratory at Portland Cement Works, green linoleum covers the laboratory floor, scuffed white in heavy traffic paths.
Laboratory
Kitchen at Portland Cement Works, low afternoon light cuts through a doorway and stretches across bare timber floorboards.
Kitchen
Green Wall at Portland Cement Works, a single steel column rises from a stained concrete floor, supporting iron roof.
Green Wall
Electrical Workshop at Portland Cement Works, steel roof trusses span the full width of the workshop, supported by thick.
Electrical Workshop
Drawing Office at Portland Cement Works, a long timber bench runs the length of the left wall, its surface bare.
Drawing Office
Cross Machine Shop at Portland Cement Works, a wide industrial floor stretches towards a row of steel-framed windows.
Cross Machine Shop
Bottle Kiln at Portland Cement Works, the cylindrical body is built from pale fired brick, banded at intervals by darker.
Bottle Kiln
Boiler House Wall at Portland Cement Works, pale green brick walls rise to a corrugated iron roof supported by steel trusses.
Boiler House Wall
Boiler House Flues at Portland Cement Works, green-painted brick rises two storeys high.
Boiler House Flues
Boiler House Door at Portland Cement Works, a pale green wash covers the brickwork of the boiler house interior.
Boiler House Door
Boarded Arches at Portland Cement Works, three arched windows line the interior brick wall, their lower panes boarded.
Boarded Arches
Blacksmith Workshop at Portland Cement Works, a steel column rises from the concrete floor to a corrugated iron roof.
Blacksmith Workshop
Blacksmith To Electrical Workshops at Portland Cement Works, a wide doorway cuts through a thick brick wall, connecting two.
Blacksmith To Electrical Workshops
Between Silos at Portland Cement Works, two concrete silos stand side by side on bare ground, a narrow vertical gap cut.
Between Silos
Arched Window at Portland Cement Works, a tall arched window set deep into a brick facade.
Arched Window
Annex Washroom at Portland Cement Works, a narrow washroom inside the Portland Cement Works annex.
Annex Washroom
Annex Toilet at Portland Cement Works, green-painted timber partitions divide a row of cubicles in the annex block.
Annex Toilet
Annex Door at Portland Cement Works, a pair of timber doors stands half-open at the centre of a concrete wall.
Annex Door
Annex at Portland Cement Works, steel roof trusses span the full width of the building, their web of angled braces.
Annex
04 ABOUT THE PRINTS

How they’re made

Made to order by Brett in Sydney, from the original RAW file. Each print is hand-signed and numbered before it ships.

Paper

Ilford Galerie cotton rag, 310 gsm. Acrylic on metallic gloss, 260 gsm.

Editions

Open in XS and S. Limited in M (100), L (50), XL (25). From $100.

Print tiers →

Lead time

Unframed: 5 to 10 business days. Framed and acrylic: 10 to 20.

06 PRESS

In the press

People talk about what it was like to work or stay in these places, who they knew, what they did, how great the Christmas parties were, that store man nobody liked, what all the different machines were, how they worked and what became of them.

Broadsheet

Brett Patman·2016

lostcollective.com

On the LC archive.

There's this sense of wonder you get when looking at abandoned buildings. You try to imagine what these spaces were like when they were filled with busy workers trying to meet production targets. And why did they close?

The Guardian

Brett Patman·2019

theguardian.com

On the LC archive.

I'm often contacted by people who used to frequent the places I photographed. They share stories that enter the collections as additions or corrections. Sometimes they send their own photos from the same viewpoints, taken decades earlier.

The Guardian

Brett Patman·2019

theguardian.com

On the LC archive.

See press coverage →
08 BY POST · NO SPAM

Read the full story

Articles when they're published. The history behind a place. The day of a shoot. The work between prints. No marketing, no schedule.

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