Valuable items from Christ Church Cathedral are being removed and placed into specialist storage as the landmark undergoes a major restoration.
The State Heritage-listed building, which has formed part of Newcastle’s skyline since 1847, is in the midst of a multi-million-dollar upgrade.
It’s aimed at addressing water ingress, salt damage and ageing infrastructure.
As scaffolding surrounds the exterior, attention has also turned to protecting the cathedral’s historic contents.
Experts from IAS Fine Art Logistics have been engaged to carefully remove and store a range of significant objects during the works.
IAS general manager Jeremy Mundey said the collection included paintings, tapestries, heritage chests, drawers and other long-standing pieces from within the premises.
“We are obviously taking care when we are removing the items to make sure there’s no damage,” he explained.
“We’re packing them, so they are safe and sealed for transport, and then we’re putting them into very high-quality climate-controlled storage.”
Mr Mundey said the storage facilities were maintained to museum standards.
“I’d say ours would be second only to medical grade storage facilities in terms of the cleanliness and the environment that they’re in,” he added.
IAS was established in 1987 as Australia’s first dedicated art transport business.
What began as a small Sydney operation has grown into a national company managing museum-standard storage and international shipments of fragile artworks and objects.
The cathedral restoration will be delivered in stages over the next 18 months and includes repairs to copper roofing and drainage systems, along with remediation of water-damaged materials.
Church leaders have previously said the project is focused on ensuring the building is watertight and preserved for future generations, while remaining open as much as possible throughout the works.
The heritage items will remain in secure storage until restoration is complete, before being returned to the cathedral.
For more news stories:
- Foocastle to rock $20m into Hunter’s visitor economy
- Man charged with attempted murder after DV-related incident at Fletcher
- Cladding work to begin soon at Calvary Mater
Get all the latest Newcastle news, sport, real estate, entertainment, lifestyle and more delivered straight to your inbox with the Newcastle Weekly Daily Newsletter. Sign up here.
