HISTORY is being preserved at one of Bathurst’s best known historic locations.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Thousands of dollars are being spent at the Bathurst Showground to ensure the ravages of time do not take a toll on the infrastructure.
The latest project is focusing on the Beau Brown Pavilion.
A team from Inland Building and Construction were on site yesterday doing the preparatory work for the current project.
Of special interest to Bathurst Showground Trust secretary manager Christine Curry is the restoration of the original lions’ heads which adorn the upper parapet of the pavilion.
“They are made of tin and we are trying to find someone with the necessary skills to make a cast so they can be recreated,” she said.
Mrs Curry said Bathurst Regional Council has granted $2000 toward the cost of the repairs and maintenance to the facade of the Beau Brown Pavilion, with the Trust making up the balance of more than $10,000.
“As well, the Public Reserves Management Fund has granted $50,000 toward replacing overhead power lines with underground power in a small section of the showman’s area, and $50,000 toward structural repairs to the internal braces of the Beau Brown.“
Mrs Curry said the Beau Brown Pavilion is steeped in history.
“It was erected in Bathurst in 1892,” she said. “The building was originally built at Ashfield in Sydney and was used as an ice skating rink.
“After being dismantled and brought over the Blue Mountains, it was rebuilt here to be used as an art gallery. Today the Beau Brown Pavilion has many uses from auctions, wedding receptions, parties and, more recently, the Ben Hall dinner.”
Mrs Curry said there are also two other pavilions in that area, including the Howard Pavilion, which was erected 1879 after being designed by Edward Gell in 1878, and named after James Howard in appreciation of his long service to the Agricultural, Horticultural and Pastoral Association as a race starter.
She said the Trevitt Pavilion dates back to 1897.
“It was designed by John Copeman and was built by Frederick and Alfred Rigby between the art gallery (now Beau Brown Pavilion) and Trevitt Pavilion,” Mrs Curry said. “It was noted back then ‘thus bringing the three sheds into one and making the enclosure one of the most compact set of buildings on any showground in NSW’ and this stands true to this very day.”