New LYSAGHT® Referee Book and Website Launch

Publication of the 32nd edition of The Lysaght Referee, due for release in March, continues a tradition that has been part of the Australian building industry since 1897.

First published in Melbourne as "The Metal Trades Referee and Storekeepers Guide", the much sought after industry handbook became The Lysaght Referee in 1920.

This coincided with publication of the 11th edition and marked the opening of BlueScope Lysaght's first Australian factory at Newcastle in New South Wales, and first Australian production of the ORB® brand galvanised corrugated steel sheet.

Where the first edition consisted of just 32 pages, this latest publication has expanded to more than 400, reflecting the growth of the Australian steel industry and diversification of the BlueScope Lysaght business and products.

Designed to serve a wider role than simply being a pocket product manual, the factual, relevant and practical information is a highly regarded resource utilised by architects, specifiers, builders, engineers, farmers and students.

Marketing Services Manager BlueScope Lysaght Hayley Dillon said, "Information within the "useful" and "general" sections covers subjects such as stock breeding tables and haystack volume calculations. These are now regarded as part of company heritage, which we feel is important to retain for historical reasons."

Early editions included information on animal husbandry and basic construction tasks to assist rural users for whom such advice was otherwise not readily available. "Feedback indicates some primary producers still make use of the information today," Hayley said.

Apart from its main role as a practical and valuable guide to the company's product range, complete sets of The Lysaght Referee are highly prized and sought after by collectors.

Editions of the handbook regularly appear for sale in second-hand bookstores and online auction sites and can even be found in the National Library of Australia.

Scanning through successive editions and exploring buildings and architectural history of those periods demonstrates the way BlueScope Lysaght and LYSAGHT® products have contributed and helped shape the Australian building landscape over the past 150 years.

"In keeping with BlueScope Lysaght's philosophy of remaining at the forefront of the building industry, Hayley said, "The new publication harnesses the power of the internet for users seeking more extensive information. It includes a handy guide to relevant online reference resources."

BlueScope Lysaght has also launched an upgraded website to complement the release of the latest edition of The Lysaght Referee.

"The website incorporates a number of new user friendly functions and has been formatted around the needs of our users," Hayley explained. "This includes an easily searchable "Where to Buy" section with our LYSAGHT® product distributor listings, plus a searchable download centre with product brochures that contain more comprehensive information.

"The main objective of the new www.lysaght.com website is to enable our customers to find the exact information they need about our extensive and expanding product portfolio as quickly as possible.

"We appreciate time is valuable in the design world so ensuring information is simple to find has been the key driver for the new layout. Our new "Product Finder" allows users to get to the product they want in just one click.

The new site includes updated case studies and feature articles on projects from all across Australia.

"There are regular industry news updates, new product release information and an easy to navigate FAQ section as well as an expanded section on BlueScope Lysaght solutions businesses."

Information on using LYSAGHT® building products and dealing with BlueScope Lysaght is also available in an account customer resources section.

A detailed history of The Lysaght Referee and the contribution BlueScope Lysaght has made to the Australian building industry since its inception in the mid 1800's has also been included and makes for an interesting read. You can also download the current and first editions from the website.

The new Lysaght Referee is only available through BlueScope Lysaght. Despite steady increases in the print run since the original edition in 1897, availability is limited. Call 1800 641 417 or visit www.lysaght.com to reserve your copy.  You can also download a copy here:

Download The LYSAGHT® Referee 32nd Edition (3234 KB)