Hello All,
I read these posts with interest as we had concrete
block-making plants here. I thought of my colleague and
friend Professor Miles Lewis of the faculty of architecture
University of Melbourne, who has published a book on the
history of concrete in Australia. I sent him all the posts
and he has just got back to me, having been overseas. People
may be interested to go to his web page
http://www.arbld.unimelb.edu.au/~mbl/home.htm  where he has
much information and references to the original sources in
his section on Australian Building. He refers to his
sections 7.00 cement  7.01 lime &c  7.02 concrete  7.06
blocks. Miles is a prodigious and meticulous researcher and
scholar and a member of international committees on
vernacular building. His web site is full of interest to
anyone interested in vernacular architecture, and/or in
comparisons with other countries.
Annie

Anne Bickford
Heritage Consultants
135 Catherine St. Leichhardt NSW 2040 Australia
Ph: 02/95699672  Fax: 02/95500261

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>From: Roderick Sprague <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Concrete Block Again
>Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2001 7:54 AM
>

>HistArch
>
>Bob Schuyler and I have had several discussion off-line concerning
>concrete
>blocks and sources for further research so I have tried not to add
>to the
>confusion, but a couple of points beg to be made.
>
>Concrete and the comments about macadam come together when it is
>noted that
>when bids go out for asphalt paving the terminology used is for
>"asphaltic
>concrete."  The major definition of concrete in the materials
>category
>remains "a conglomerate."
>
>It is my contention that the term cinder block was used in my
>younger days
>in the Northwest only by those not familiar with the building
>trades and
>those tending toward rufus in the cervical region.
>
>In 1980, Adrian White took my course in Historical Archaeology and
>submitted a seven page bibliography on concrete blocks, none of
>which is
>duplicated in the bibliography of David Moyer.  If I can find
>Adrian and
>get her permission, I will put it on line (Adrian are you out
>there?).
>
>Rick
>
>
>.