Published Friday, 11 January, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Minister for Public Works, Housing and Information and Communication Technology
The Honourable Robert Schwarten
ROBERT THE BRUCE STANDS TALL AT GOVERNMENT HOUSE ONCE AGAIN
A stained glass window depicting a life-size figure of Scottish legend Robert the Bruce has been reinstalled at Government House in Bardon following a delicate restoration process, Public Works Minister Robert Schwarten said today.
Mr Schwarten said the $108,000 restoration of the window, which sits in the main hallway of Government House, was a meticulous and highly skilled process.
“The restoration was badly needed as the lead matrix holding the glass pieces together was buckling and some pieces of glass were broken,” Mr Schwarten said.
“Sunshine Coast stained glass window restorers Gerry Cummins and Jill Stehn won the tender to carry out the restoration work, which began in September last year,” he said.
“Gerry and Jill are very experienced restorers of Australia’s priceless culturally and historically significant stained glass windows.”
The restoration program included four main stages - documentation, dismantling, cleaning and reassembling.
Mr Cummins said the window would not need to be restored again for another 100 to 150 years.
“This was one of the most difficult and demanding projects we have done in 33 years in the business,” he said.
“We cleaned 1000 pieces of glass on both sides under a microscope using cotton buds and deionised water.
“Some of the glass was so fragile you couldn’t touch it without taking paint off.
“This was an important project to us as this window is unique in Queensland stained glass history and we hope to have set a benchmark for stained glass window restoration in Queensland and Australia,” he said.
The Robert the Bruce window was originally installed in the house in 1891. It is believed Parliamentarian John Stevenson, a Scottish patriot, purchased the window on a trip back to Scotland.
Media contact: Scott Chandler on (07) 3237 1832/0488 096 204
Mr Schwarten said the $108,000 restoration of the window, which sits in the main hallway of Government House, was a meticulous and highly skilled process.
“The restoration was badly needed as the lead matrix holding the glass pieces together was buckling and some pieces of glass were broken,” Mr Schwarten said.
“Sunshine Coast stained glass window restorers Gerry Cummins and Jill Stehn won the tender to carry out the restoration work, which began in September last year,” he said.
“Gerry and Jill are very experienced restorers of Australia’s priceless culturally and historically significant stained glass windows.”
The restoration program included four main stages - documentation, dismantling, cleaning and reassembling.
Mr Cummins said the window would not need to be restored again for another 100 to 150 years.
“This was one of the most difficult and demanding projects we have done in 33 years in the business,” he said.
“We cleaned 1000 pieces of glass on both sides under a microscope using cotton buds and deionised water.
“Some of the glass was so fragile you couldn’t touch it without taking paint off.
“This was an important project to us as this window is unique in Queensland stained glass history and we hope to have set a benchmark for stained glass window restoration in Queensland and Australia,” he said.
The Robert the Bruce window was originally installed in the house in 1891. It is believed Parliamentarian John Stevenson, a Scottish patriot, purchased the window on a trip back to Scotland.
Media contact: Scott Chandler on (07) 3237 1832/0488 096 204