ONE small piece of Bathurst’s beloved St Barnabas’ Anglican Church, destroyed by fire earlier this year, has risen from the ashes as a symbol of hope.
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The beautiful leadlight window was the only window in the historic building to survive the blaze in February.
It was created in 1997 as a memorial to prisoners of war (POWs) and chaplains in the South Pacific.
Although it wasn’t destroyed, the window was in a very sorry state – the glass was covered in soot and the solder was melting in rivers down its surface.
Fr Paul Woodhart, a leadlight artist, carefully took the window home to his studio where he began the painstaking job of restoring it.
He finished just in time for Victory in the Pacific Day (VP Day) which falls today.
The commemoration marks 69 years since Japan's acceptance of the Allied demand for unconditional surrender.
Fr Paul said Bathurst had been a training camp for men of the 8th Division, and commissioning the window had seemed a good way to remember them.
The 8th Division marched through Bathurst before travelling to Sydney for deployment to Singapore.
"After a mere three weeks they were captured by the Japanese. Thus began a terrible internment for thousands," he said.
Fr Paul, who was Rector of St Barnabas at the time, said the idea of commissioning a memorial window came from Greg Standen, a member of the St Barnabas congregation.
Fr Paul contacted Ruth Hingston from Canberra about creating a tropical prisoner of war window.
It was designed with tropical motifs, the red cross symbol, and the Changi Cross.
Former Rector of the Parish, Cliff Usher, was a chaplain at the Changi Prison.
The window was dedicated in a service on August 15, 1997. A number of POWs came to Bathurst for that service and were thrilled to have been recognised.
The deliberately lit fire which gutted St Barnabas on February 23, 2014, completely destroyed the interior, while the roof was so badly damaged it has since been completely removed to allow safe access to the site.
"It's such a shame. So many beautiful, historic stained glass windows were destroyed in that fire," Fr Paul said.
However, the fact that the doors to the foyer had been closed at the time slightly lessened the impact on the section of the building housing the memorial window.
Fr Paul carefully carried the window back to his studio where he completely pulled it apart, scrubbed each piece of glass, and replaced any cracked pieces.
He had kept the original plans for the window, so 17 years after it was created, he was able to re-create it and solder it all back together.
Fr Paul will present the window to the St Barnabas congregation on Sunday when, for the first time in years, he will be taking the service. The window will remain in the care of the congregation until the future of their church is known.
The congregation now meets in the St Joseph Convent Chapel at Perthville.
"This is my gift to the congregation. I'm doing it as a sign of hope,” Fr Paul said.
Priest in Charge of St Barnabas, Fr James Hodson, said tenders have been called for the rebuilding of the church and are now with the insurers.
"I'm hopeful we can rise from the ashes," he said. "The church will never be the same again."