Peeling white paint exposes long runs of red brick along the flank of a low industrial building at the Portland Cement Works on Williwa Street, Portland. Broken windows and a boarded doorway mark years of disuse.

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

Map · Mapbox · OpenStreetMap

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 and numbered, printed from the original RAW file. Open editions in the two smallest sizes; limited editions of 100, 50 and 25 in the three larger, never reissued once they sell through.

Peeling white paint exposes long runs of red brick along the flank of a low industrial building at the Portland Cement Works on Williwa Street, Portland. Broken windows and a boarded doorway mark years of disuse.
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
Rusted laundry machines and peeling painted walls inside the former Wash House at Portland Cement Works, photographed in 2018.
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
Brick arches stand in the foreground at Portland Cement Works. Dust coats exposed concrete surfaces. Daylight reaches the interior through open masonry openings. Vegetation is absent from the immediate frame.
Small Arches
A group of 4 concrete cylindrical silos, viewed from ground level against an open sky at Portland Cement Works. Rust staining runs vertically down weathered exterior surfaces.
Silos
Raffan Mill Workshop at Portland Cement Works, a corrugated iron roof spans the workshop on rough-hewn timber beams.
Raffan Mill Workshop
Interior of the Raffan Mill Boiler House at Portland Cement Works, showing rusted industrial machinery and crumbling concrete within a deteriorating brick structure.
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
Dust-coated scientific glassware and instruments on worn benches inside the laboratory at Portland Cement Works, photographed in 2018.
Laboratory
Dust-coated stove and corroded sink in a deteriorating kitchen interior at Portland Cement Works, with faint light filtering through a grimy window.
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
Light green paint peels back from the brick walls of the boiler house at Portland Cement Works, revealing red masonry beneath.
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.

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.

You're subscribed.