Cement Silos

Provenance

Camera: NIKON D7000
Lens: 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Settings: 14mm · f/8.0 · 1/30 · ISO 100
Paper: Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm

The gap between two concrete cement storage silos at Kandos Cement Works. A vertical pipe runs the full height of the shaft. Light enters from above in a thin strip. Cement dust built up in thick layers across decades of production from 1916 to 2011.

Edition

Open edition

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Printed to order, no fixed quantity. Each print is hand-signed by the photographer.

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A fixed number of prints exist. Once sold, the edition closes permanently. Each print is individually numbered and signed.

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Signed, numbered, with COA. Made to order in 10 to 20 business days (framed). Shipped in protective packaging with edition certificate, paper-stock reference and a printed care guide.

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In situ

01 PROVENANCE

Print datasheet

Title: Cement Silos
Series: Kandos Cement Works
Catalogue: KCW-005
Process: Giclée
Captured: 13 February 2016
Camera: NIKON D7000
Lens: 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Aperture: f/8.0
Shutter: 1/30 s
ISO: 100
Focal length: 14 mm
Paper: Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm
Paper size: 290 × 200 mm
Location: Kandos, New South Wales, Australia
Authenticity: C2PA verified provenance →
Recognised by: Highly Commended in Multimedia at the 2016 National Trust of Australia (NSW) Heritage Awards

02 LOCATION

Kandos, New South Wales, Australia

Map · Mapbox · OpenStreetMap

03 THE STORY

About this print

The cement silos at Kandos Cement Works rise above the plant in a row, four cylindrical concrete towers in matched height. The silos are rendered in plain grey concrete, their surfaces stained with darker streaks where rainwater has run off the conical roofs. Steel ladders run up the side of each silo to access hatches at the top. Conveyor housing connects the silos to the dispatch building below. The silos sit on the western edge of the plant, framed against the sandstone hills that surround the town. Some of the silo doors are open at their bases. Cement dust still drifts out of them when the wind catches the right angle.

Kandos Cement Works opened in August 1916 and operated for ninety-five years until it closed in September 2011. At its peak the plant produced cement for major Sydney construction projects, including parts of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the 1930s. The silos held finished cement before it was loaded onto rail cars or trucks for distribution. After the closure the plant was decommissioned in stages, but the silos and most of the larger structures were left in place. Their scale makes demolition expensive, and there has not yet been a use for the site that requires their removal.

04 FROM THE FIELD NOTES

These were the cement handling silos, where the finished product was stored before dispatch. Over time, a thick, almost organic layer of caked-on cement dust built up on every surface, coating the walls, pipes, and even the light fittings.

Brett Patman

The series

Kandos Cement Works

2016 · 40 photographs

The town's first name was Candos, an acronym of the directors' surnames at the NSW Cement Lime and Coal Company. They bought 100 acres from local farmer John Lloyd Junior for £2,000 in 1913 and had surveyor James Dawson lay out the township. The Postmaster General ruled the name change to Kandos in 1915, and by August 1916 the kilns at the new cement works were firing.

View all in this series →

05 SIZE GUIDE

Print sizes

The anatomy view shows what this finish is as a physical object: paper margin, mat band, frame depth, acrylic profile. The comparison strip shows how each size sits relative to the others at true scale. Click a size or a finish to update both.