It was a great feeling when the safety fence came down and the plastic and hessian (mortar aftercare) came off.... Stepping back, you could see that the project has really been a success.
Even though I do maintain that conservation should trump restoration, well, in this case, restoration rightly won out.
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| The Les Darcy gravesite before we started the stonework restoration. |
With the historic kerbset gone – thrown out rather than maintained or repaired, probably in the 1970s – and a brutal (and failed) concrete monstrosity poured over the vault and graves, well, I think the Maitland City Council and the family and all of the interested parties and donors and, particularly, the guiding team of heritage experts and professionals: they got it right... and we were very happy to get to play our part.
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| Here's a black-and-white photo of what the vault looks like now |
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| ©National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-vn3772881 |
We may not have raised much money for the Trusts at Rookwood, but we did get to help in a great project... and one which proved team-building (at least that's what I'm telling myself about our overnight stays in the highway-side caravan park) and gave us a chance to do some real traditional stonemasonry. All good!
By the way, if you happen to follow this blog, sorry for adding all of the various Les Darcy stories all at once. I try not to be superstitious, but, somehow, I never want to post any of the stories about a job until it's all done. Maybe not superstitious but just prudent... or, maybe, just superstitious?
Stumbled across your blog today while ferreting about the Rookwood site as I think most of my family have been buried there over the years.
ReplyDeleteTerrific to read about the Les Darcy grave restoration work that you did.
If I ever find the money I've got a couple of jobs at Rookwood for you!
Kind regards,
Carol Duncan
ABC Newcastle
http://blogs.abc.net.au/nsw/2011/10/resting-in-pieces-the-grave-of-les-darcy.html