Have you ever noticed something missing from the Mechanics Institute building on Elder Street in Lambton?
If you look up you will notice one of the finials is missing. A finial is a decorative ornament at the top, end, or corner of a building.
One of the two finials on the building fell during the 1989 Newcastle Earthquake.
Ron Robinson, chair of the Lambton Mechanics Institute, said the building had some structural damage during the earthquake and with a grant from the State Government and loan funds from the Lord Mayor’s Earthquake Appeal, the priority was to save the locally listed heritage building.
“At the time there was so much other damage in Newcastle, it was hard to justify money being used to fix a purely ornamental feature”. Mr Robinson said.
“In more recent times we’ve had enquiries from the public asking why the building has only a finial on the eastern side.
“The time now seems right to repair the western finial after 33 years.”
Mr Robinson says that with the help of Linda Babic, from Lambton’s Heritas Architects, he has been exploring ways in which they might put the surviving pieces together and reconstruct the finial.
Ron said that whilst securing funding for heritage work is always hard, it is particularly difficult when the building is not in inner Sydney or even inner Newcastle.
“It would be a shame if one of the most significant heritage buildings of the former mining village of Lambton was left with a missing finial.”
“We are seeking help both technical expertise and the financial resources to ascertain if we can resurrect the missing finial.” Mr Robinson said.
Anyone or any organisation that would like to assist Lambton Mechanics Institute in this restoration project can contact Ron Robinson by email at ron.robinson@outlook.com.au
