The three Stonehenges…Esperance, UK and USA

I first saw Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain in England when I was nine and have visited it several times since.

The original Stonehenge was built about 5,000 years ago, and added to for hundreds of years. The hallmark stone circle was erected in the late Neolithic period about 2500 BC.

Two types of stone are used at Stonehenge – the larger sarsens and the smaller ‘bluestones’. The sarsens were erected in two concentric arrangements – an inner horseshoe and an outer circle – and the bluestones were set up between them in a double arc. Finally an earthwork avenue was built, connecting Stonehenge with the river Avon.

Since then, Stonehenge has been a subject of antiquarian research, speculation and wonder as well as being used as a stone quarry by medieval builders.

It has also become one of English Heritage’s premier tourist attractions and, together with Avebury stone circle, a UNESCO world heritage site.

It is not surprising that people have copied what is probably the world’s best known Neolithic monument.

Stonehenge Rolla

Students, faculty, staff and community gather at the Stonehenge located on campus for a celebration of the fall equinox. Michael Pierce/Missouri S&T

While working in the US I visited a half-scale model of Stonehenge made from 160 tonnes of granite carved by engineering students at Rolla, University of Missouri, nearly 40 years ago 

Built to showcase the stone carving capabilities of the university’s high-pressure water jet lab, when used as a sundial this Stonehenge is reportedly accurate to within 15 seconds. 

To complete the work the university commissioned a druid priest to dedicate it on the summer solstice.

Stonehenge Esperance

Aerial view of Stonehenge Esperance

Just 14km out of Esperance is my most recently visited Stonehenge – a full size replica of the original in the UK. 

It consists of a solid granite structure weighing 2,500 tonnes. The stone was originally quarried for a similar project in Margaret River in 2008. That project fell through after the stone had already been cut. 

Kim and Jillian Beale, who owned a small farm only a kilometre from the quarry, decided to build the replica on their property with their own money in 2011, after receiving approval from the Shire of Esperance.

It was designed by architect Michael Sorensen of Sorensen Architects, and used 1,200 cubic metres of Esperance pink granite supplied and installed by AustralAsian Granite. 

The monument consists of 137 stones – 10 inner trilithon stones each weighing between 28–50 tonnes form a horseshoe with an 18-tonne lintel laying over each pair, reaching a height of eight metres.

Inside the horseshoe stands another smaller horseshoe of 19 blue stones.

Lying at the base of the tallest trilithon stone lies the Altar Stone.

The perimeter circle consists of 30 sarsen stones weighing 28 tonnes each with eight tonne lintels lining the top. 

Esperance Stonehenge, like the UK original, was built to align with the solstices. On the morning of the summer solstice (December 21 or 22 in the southern hemisphere) the sun’s rays align with the heel stones and shine through to the altar stone. 

The sunset of the winter solstice (June 21) repeats the same alignment in reverse. 

Esperance Stonehenge is operated as a tourist attraction. Visitors experience the unique ambiance of the structure as they can walk amongst the stones while the acoustics inside the structure provide additional wonder. Three couples have taken their wedding vows there. 

But the Beales’ cows appear less impressed.

If you have visited Stonehenge in England, it is well worth going to Esperance to get a clear picture of what the original looked like in its glory days, around 4,500 years ago.

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Frank Smith
Frank Smith was trained as an agricultural scientist in the UK, moving to WA in 1974 and shortly afterwards began lecturing at WAIT (now Curtin University) in soils and agronomy. In 1979 he joined the Agriculture Protection Board in charge of publications and media relations, studying part time for a degree in Journalism. In 1992 he spent a year as a visiting professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Later he ran a small publication company with his wife Mary-Helen. He then began freelance writing, editing and book indexing. He has written articles for more than 40 magazines in four continents and indexed more than 20 books. In 2007 he started writing for Have a Go News and gradually reduced his writing for other publications. He later took over the subediting, ensuring Have a Go News is consistent in style and highly readable. He and Mary-Helen live in a passive solar home in the Perth Hills with a varying collection of quendas and native birds.