Members of the trust, joined by mayor Gary Rush, presented the certificate to Murray Arnold and Annie Balcomb, owners of The Tannery in Morrisset Street, as part of its regular heritage recognition program.

On receiving the award, Mr Arnold and Ms Balcomb said it had been a  privilege to sympathetically restore and conserve one of Bathurst’s original buildings.

“We are so in awe of the skills of the master tradesmen of this era of early settlement,” Mr Arnold said. “We appreciate the Bathurst Regional Council Heritage Grant Scheme, which assists people to continue to preserve buildings of historical significance, and therefore the streetscape of Australia’s oldest inland town.”

Cr Rush said this is a great example of protecting the unique Bathurst heritage.

“Our endeavours to continue to promote our heritage will enable future generations to appreciate and admire what is special about our city,” he said. 

National Trust representative Libby Loneragan said the owners are to be congratulated on showing what can be done with some thought, research, enthusiasm and encouragement. 

“The brief for the project was ‘to retain as many of the original features as possible and to conserve rather than restore’,” she said.

“The original house building is now four bedrooms, with a sympathetic extension for kitchen and living areas, and is surrounded by walled gardens with private courtyards. 

“The building has New England oak floors, with architraves and skirting boards specially milled to match the original, and a picket found under the floor was used as a template to remake the new fence.

“The quality work evident in The Tannery is thanks to the skilled local members of the building industry that Murray employed 

during the 10-month long project including design architect Henry Bialowas; bricklaying by Leif Hummelshoj; painting by Nigel Frisby; plumbing by Scott Mitchell; civil works design by Voerman and Ratsep and carpentry/joinery by Provincial Joinery.”

Mr Arnold acknowledged the support of council’s senior strategic planner Janet Bingham and heritage adviser Barbara Hickson. The property is now listed on the Asset Register of Houses of Historical Significance within Bathurst.

The Tannery played an important role in Bathurst’s early industrial development. On February 2, 1850, John Page purchased the land and established a tannery and saddlery, which operated on the site from November 1851 until 1870.

History records that a common practice of many builders in the area was to place a cat and bones under the floor to give them good luck and ward off evil spirits. A cat skeleton found during the work was returned to its original resting place.