Historic Holy Trinity Church, Wattle Flat, has been lamenting for someone to love it for years.
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A Sydney couple who have bought and started restoring the 1870's stone building yesterday explained their passion to answer the cry, by renovating the landmark church as a retirement home.
Paul and Anne Kellett, drove past the church every year for a decade, going to Hill End to pursue their hobby sport of muzzle loading.
Mrs Kellett a psychiatric nurse and Mr Kellett a Telstra worker, drove through the old goldfields, forever distracted by the forlorn state of the 130-year-old church.
"Every time I'd drive past I'd say `I just love that building. I want to own it, want it so badly, want to save it'," Mrs Kellett said.
"I was forever saddened, looking at the church. Sorry about years of neglect. But I always thought the church beautiful, that I'd own and live in it some day."
Mrs Kellett's urgency to "own the church, look after it and show kindness" has also been an enormous frustration. Mostly driving past, seeing decline, decay, vandalism, apparent changing of ownership, nobody doing anything.
Her frustration was magnified as Mrs Kellett's trips to Hill End generally coincided with a real estate agent's "for sale" or "sold" sign, appearing in the church grounds.
"I'd come along and see it sold, saying `no, I've missed again'," she said. "Last February the property was for sale. We bought it there and then."
Mrs Kellett and her husband vowed to restore the building to create a "loft living" retirement home with room to host family visitors, enjoying the company of their grandchildren.
They have been gathering a collection of history of the church and Wattle Flat to better understand the significance of Holy Trinity Church, which Mrs Kellett says was Higher Anglican with its Celtic Cross.
Strangely, however, there was no Heritage Listing on the building. Mr and Mrs Kellett only own the church and grounds.
Wattle Flat cemetery, is not part of their property. Burials could still take place there, the last was only a few years ago.
"Holy Trinity appears to have been built from pieces of stone carried from the hills from Wattle Flat to Sofala," Mrs Kellett observed with genuine affection.
"You only have to look at stone littering hills. Compare them to stones used in construction of the church. They're one and the same colour.
"That's one of the features of the building, I just love the stones, forever changing colour through the day.
"The foundation stone of the church was laid in 1871, the building was completed in 1873, the church opened in 1874, but for some reason the concentration, by Bishop Samuel Marsden, was not until 1879."
Mr and Mrs Kellett said when residents of Wattle Flat pass by and they're at the site "people are forever stoping, yelling encouragement to us".
The couple have uncovered a book signed by visitors to the church, that appeared to have once been used as an art gallery.
The Kellett's appreciate and draw inspiration from visitors' comments: "We'd love to see the building restored"; "the peace I felt in the church"; "the sadness in the cemetery".
There was also one reference to a visitor in search of records of the venue of a wedding they thought might have taken place in the church many years ago, Mrs Kellett said.
The church was featured in "The Car That Ate Paris", a 1974 movie, with a wedding, the minister entering from the vestry and scene of the guests in the body of the church.
There was also another scene in the same movie, in the graveyard, featuring one of the oldest of the headstones, Mrs Kellett said.
Recently a young Bathurst tradesman, Adam Schembri, was consulted by Mr and Mrs Kellett to put a new roof over the original slate to conserve everything else inside the church.
The couple have been so impressed with Mr Schembri's interest and dedication to restore the building, they'll offer him the remaining work.
Mr and Mrs Kellett have also received lots of useful advice from Evans Shire's heritage advisor, Sue Gregory. After discussions with Ms Gregory they're determined to retain the building as it stands.
"As soon as we put scaffolding-up, people started to stop," Mrs Kellett said. "They're just as excited as us, to see something being done to save the church."
When the Kellett's camped in the grounds, a local identity Neil Blackburn stopped to spend a few hours, relating history of the church, which suffered final indignities when most of the furnishings were stolen.
Furniture from the church was found on a truck at Lithgow. It was returned to Bathurst and sold off, including the original organ, some of the sold pews were cut for shelving.
Mr and Mrs Kellett have both got about 10 years of work life ahead of them before they retire. They say their restoration will be staged, as money becomes available, but they've already got a floor plan in mind.
Mr Schembri remaining as builder has exposed some floor supports, which will have to be replaced. Interior bearers and tie-rods also have to replaced.
Plumbing will be under the massive stone walls at the back of the church, concentrated to overcome difficulties putting modern fittings through solid rock walls.
All of the original flooring will be retained and utilised for interior renovations. A lead lighting specialist has been consulted on best ways to utilise light from existing windows.
The dais in the main body of the church will be retained as a feature in an open living area scheme, once interior decorations have been decided.
An engineer has inspected the building and declared it is as sound as the day it was built, there's no danger of it falling down. Although somebody with knowledge of rock buttress will be consulted for exterior renovations.
Mr Kellett said restorations will be a compromise, to enable the family to realistically live in the church building while preserving character and atmosphere.
There was no intention to put in a false ceiling, with interior partitions although that was one of the options in restoration of old buildings and warehouses for "loft living".
To make the church habitable there would be a confined living area towards the western end, with open living area to take advantage of three large feature windows to the east.
"We want the original character to be retained, to work in with it," Mr Kellett said. "We don't want to impose ourselves on the building."