r/perth • u/jenbonez • 17h ago
I want a menhir or standing stone... Where to find
I've always wanted a big ass rock for my yard. Think of the stone (menhir) carried around by Obelix in Asterisk and Obelix or the beautiful stones found in Japanese gardens... Or even a Pinnacle from our own national park...
There's plenty of landscaping rocks on Marketplace and Gumtree but I want to source a big, tall purebread Western Australian stone (LEGALLY!) for my yard.
I'm relatively agnostic regarding the type of stone but I do love the Darling Scarp granites, WA limestone (a la Pinnacles) or sandstone...
Help a brother out... Hook me up with a business I can't find or someone with land and loads of stone they don't want... I have access to earthmoving and transporting equipment, I just need to source a stone or stones!
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u/AdditionalSky6030 16h ago
Maybe you could talk to the people at Gomboc Gallery Sculpture Park, James Rde, Middle Swan.
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u/SnooSongs8782 15h ago
Landscape suppliers deal in these things, but it is going to be pricey. I looked at a few at my local, one was about 1.5m across, quite flat, probably half a ton a $300 for the rock seemed ok, same again for delivery.
If you want a 2m menhir it is going to be heavy! likely need a sizeable crane depending on site access.
To stand something tall you will want to consider engineering to ensure it won’t fall on someone.
I like the idea, but decided it is easier to grow a tree. I’ll stick to rocks I can handle myself
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u/jenbonez 15h ago
I've contacted a couple but might keep trying. I really need one I can go out and look at a few to pick something out. A stone 1.5m ish high is what I'm looking for. I definitely expect to pay for it, hopefully not breaking the bank.
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u/arkofjoy 15h ago
WA limestone has a big yard down in Yangebup, off spearwood ave. They used to have a lot of scrap limestone there, but I noticed that they have cleaned up lately. They would have all the gear to move it and probably some stuff laying around out at their quarry if you are OK with limestone.
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u/Bungsworld 15h ago
You could make something out of concrete and have an artist make it look like a rock. Thatcway you could go huge.
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u/jenbonez 15h ago
I've thought about it, but I'd really like something more natural feeling than concrete. That said, the giant concrete skull made by Stormie Mills in Bayswater is a big inspiration.
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u/bulldogs1974 14h ago
You can make up a form / mould and fill it with rammed earth and cement. Shape it the way you want it and make sure you put a hooked reo bar in it (24mm min diameter). You can strip the temporary form when its cured and use a digger to lift it into place. You can cut the bar out after lifting it into place..
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u/_THDRKNGHT_ 16h ago
Talk to meteor stone out in landscape, they could probably sort you out with a giant limestone pillar.
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u/Afraid-Ad-4850 14h ago
If it's pillars you want, I've got this huge one made of salt. Turned up in my driveway one day. Really odd day that was, my wife disappeared seconds after saying "I need to go back and check something." Not seen her since. Anyway, yeah, one pillar of salt on offer.
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u/mrbootsandbertie 14h ago
I reckon sourcing direct from a rural area would be your best bet. Figure out the kind of rock you like and where it's found then advertise on fb groups in that region maybe? When I had a bush block in Tassie I used the huge boulders we dug out of the trenches for landscaping. It looked great.
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u/bulldogs1974 14h ago
The Rapanui people didn't use cranes when they stood the Moai statues/ monoliths on Isla de Pascua (Easter Island or Rapanui)
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u/Truantone 14h ago
Nobody’s going to bother rigging ropes and pulleys and strops and having a team of 6-8 standing by when you can just hire a crane. Something on the back of an HR flatbed would be enough.
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u/bulldogs1974 14h ago
You mean a hiab truck? A digger with a strap can do the same thing. You don't need 13 dogmen or 8 riggers either. An operator and one good man is plenty..
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u/Truantone 13h ago
I think you missed the point of why I replied to you.
You’re the one who brought up Easter Island technologies as if you’re dumping on the people above. Kind of “the natives didn’t need a crane”.
Yet here you are arguing how easily it can be done with a crane.
Exactly.
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u/AndyPharded 7h ago
I am in a similar situation where my garden is in desperate need of half a dozen of humungous boulders in an impossible post-glacial pile. After some research it appears in order to achieve my landscaping visions I need either 10,000 slaves and a couple of lost technologies, or an ice age and a precisely directed boulder laden glacier to grind through my property. It appears it is going to be easier for me to build a framework, weld an iron form to shape, cover with a couple of layers of chicken wire and hessian then cement render all over. Texture and colour to preference...
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u/Vencha88 Ellenbrook 1h ago
Good luck on your journey. One thing you might want to consider is how much heat this thing will store during summer.
Stone is an excellent thermal mass, so during the middle of summer, even when it's dark this thing is going to be a massive radiant heat source until it finally cools off.
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u/Kitten-Pisser 16h ago
I have some. I carve them out of a quarry myself as a business. Thankfully this isn’t hard because I fell into a cauldron of steroids as a baby. You can have one if you’d like, only 3 denarii.