Welsh slate roofing by Bellstone & Slate provides makeover magic at Little Bay

The once magnificent Prince Henry Hospital at Little Bay has undergone a vast transformation courtesy of the NSW Government in a remarkable $400 million redevelopment program that involves the construction of 400 homes, including apartments, villas and terraces as well as retail and commercial development.

The hospital was built in 1881 and featured a slate roof. The original slate was sourced from the famous Penrhyn quarry in North Wales; roofing slates were shipped out as ballast in trading vessels to a colony desperate for building materials that had long life spans.

After 125 years of exposure to salt air, wind and moisture, roofing nails and battens rotted and many of the original slates fretted, especially those slates on the northern side where the heat load was greatest.

NSW, Department of Commerce architects decided to embark on a complete roof restoration of all the old hospital buildings; new slate of identical size, thickness and colour was ordered and supplied from Penrhyn which has now become the largest open cut roofing slate quarry in the world.

The restoration work is in the final stages of completion as the before and after, photographs reveal.

Sydney based Bellstone & Slate are the Australian distributors of Welsh slate as well as premium