Queen Victoria Building – QVBBarrel Vault Roof Cartwheel Window The Great Australian Clock Royal Clock

One of the dominant features of the QVB, are the stained glass windows that include the grand central dome with a glass interior dome and copper sheathed exterior. Below the dome are the stained glass windows that provide light into the area below the dome. The stained glass windows include a cartwheel window featuring the ancient arms of the City of Sydney.

Known as the Cartwheel Window, located between Gallery 1 and 2 in the Centre Dome area, with escalator access between the levels, the Cartwheel Window is the stained glass window facing George Street. It shows part of the ancient coat of Arms of Sydney.

Stained glass windows, Queen Victoria Building, Sydney NSW
Stained glass windows, Queen Victoria Building, Sydney NSW

The visual message of the Cartwheel Window include the beehives that depicts business, the sailing ship for trade, and the dolphins for the harbour. These are on the left and right window panes from the main central window pane.

Stained window pane to the left of the main Central window pane of the Cartwheel Window, Queen Victoria Building, Sydney NSW
Stained window pane to the left of the main Central window pane of the Cartwheel Window, Queen Victoria Building, Sydney NSW

The central window pane, in Panel 1, on the left hand side, represents the Council of the City of Sydney and symbols of architecture. The letters I. G. B. on panel 3, represent Ipoh Gardens Berhad, the Malaysian company who restored the QVB. The symbols are of property developers – the builders. The central panel represents the heraldic symbol of a finished building and the joining of two hands denotes the fusing of two cultures.

The cartwheel shape is more obvious in the following photo.

Cartwheel Window, Queen Victoria Building, Sydney NSW
Cartwheel Window, Queen Victoria Building, Sydney NSW

Did you know, that the windows on the York Street side are original, whilst those in the photos shown here are of the windows on the George Street side, and are new, having been replaced after the original were damaged during the Hilton Hotel bombing (February 1978). These new windows were designed to commemorate the restoration of the Queen Victoria Building.

Cartwheel Window, Queen Victoria Building, Sydney NSW
Cartwheel Window, Queen Victoria Building, Sydney NSW

Footnote & References

  1. Queen Victoria Building, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Victoria_Building

Queen Victoria Building – QVBBarrel Vault Roof Cartwheel Window The Great Australian Clock Royal Clock

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