Who wants to live in a 200 million year-old home?

Anyone who loves Sydney sandstone, that’s who.

An 1860s sandstone cottage at 19 Little West Street, Darlinghurst, is for sale through Jason Boon and Geoff Cox  https://www.rwebay.com.au/5086696/

Sydney sandstone is the common name for Sydney Basin Hawkesbury Sandstone, also historically known as Yellow block or “yellow gold”. It is a sedimentary rock named after the Hawkesbury River north of Sydney, where this sandstone is particularly common.

It forms the bedrock for much of the region of Sydney. Well known for its durable quality, it was a highly favoured building material, especially preferred during the city’s early years from the late 1790s to the 1890s.

It gives Sydney its distinctive appearance.

This bedrock gives the city its “personality” with one author describing it “a kind of base note, an ever-present reminder of its Georgian beginnings and more ancient past.”

Sydney sandstone was deposited in the Triassic Period. This period spanned 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.9 million years ago to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.3 million years ago. The Triassic period was a period of major extinction events.

19 Little West Street doesn’t require a degree in petrology (rocks) to appreciate it. The warmth and texture of the sandstone is in the façade, back and side fences, foundations, front porch, internal walls and rear patio.

Other period features include arched, second storey front French doors, balustrades and high ceilings, allowing this home to make a unique contribution to its locality.

By Andrew Woodhouse, Heritage Solutions