Out of sight, out of mind

Percy from the Pews

A particularly important consideration – bearing in mind what has happened to the St Mary’s windows – should be what protection is to be given to Holy Trinity’s beautiful stained glass memorial windows honouring the parishioners who died in World War One. These windows are the dominant feature of the church interior. The local church leadership continues to remain silent on this protection, despite top level concern from the RSL.
IT WAS disturbing for former parishioners (and indeed upsetting for any lover of old Tasmanian churches) to see the vandalism inflicted on the neglected St Mary’s Anglican Church building at Bridgewater reported last week by the Mercury.

Surely this is not what the Anglican leadership wants to see happen to churches flogged off because they are surplus to requirements as the local heirarchy pursues a new vision for its religion in Tasmania? But, as the old saying goes, out of sight, out of mind . . .

The graffiti splattered over the walls of St Mary’s interior was bad enough, but the broken stained glass holy windows were even more disturbing. They should have been safeguarded, and the Anglican leadership should have ensured this as a requirement when it sold the property.

The deterioration of St Mary’s is a timely jolt on the unresolved future of the now closed North Hobart Holy Trinity building.

At least there are some grounds for optimism here with work on a Conservation Management Plan for its future having started last week. It’s being funded by the Hobart City Council, which has appointed a nationally renowned expert in the field to do the work, Peter Freeman, of Canberra’s Peter Freeman Conservation Architects and Planners.

Tasmania has frequently featured prominently in his efforts as a top conservation specialist – 12 projects here among some 40-plus overall in Australia and beyond. There was the Tasmanian Museum Art Gallery Precinct CMP in 1993, the Hobart Town Hall Precinct CMP 1995, State Parliament House Precinct CMP 1997, the Queen Mary Club Precinct CMP 2000, to mention just a few.

The first draft report on Holy Trinity is expected to be finished early March, with the final draft to be made public in May.

A particularly important consideration – bearing in mind what has happened to the St Mary’s windows – should be what protection is to be given to Holy Trinity’s beautiful stained glass memorial windows honouring the parishioners who died in World War One. These windows are the dominant feature of the church interior. The local church leadership continues to remain silent on this protection, despite top level concern from the RSL.

(Holy Trinity has numerous other lovely stained glass windows that should be safeguarded as well – they were also given in perpetuity to the church by families to honour the memories of loved ones).

Whether they are indoors or outside, war memorials should be respected. That some aren’t is a poor reflection on today’s society.

This was brought home to me by a recent newspaper report from England. In the village of Mangotsfield near Bristol, Julie Lake became furious when she saw yobs, a group of “hoodies”, vandalising a war memorial garden. They made a series of attacks on the garden, which featured a stone cross – they daubed offensive graffiti on it, rode bikes over wreaths and carved names into wooden benches.

The report said older residents were too scared to go out at night because of the gang, but Julie Lake – the daughter of a World War Two RAF pilot and granddaughter of one of the fallen in World War One – wasn’t going to accept the situation.

“The memorial is a sacred place – it’s like a grave. How dare these youngsters tarnish the memories of those who made a sacrifice for future generations,” she said, adding that she had complained to the police about the vandalism and tried talking to the youths but had got nowhere.

When 15 youths surrounded and mocked her, asking if her husband sitting in their car (Peter Lake is 63 and recovering from cancer) was going to rescue her, she slapped the ringleader on a cheek.

The outcome? The yobs noted her car registration number, complained to the police – and Julie Lake is now facing the prospect of an assault charge. Her response was she saw it as her duty to stop the desecration of a war memorial, and if she had to she was prepared to go to jail.

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