Alistair Pennington hired Ricky and Ash Hard to restore the signwriting. Photo: Supplied.
The original elevated 1890s signs on the heritage Conqueror Milling Company building in Cootamundra have been re-painted and restored, providing a fresh new look to welcome visitors to town.
The mill was constructed in 1875 and then taken over by the Stratton family, who had the sign Stratton & Sons painted on both sides of the edifice in 1893.
The flour mill operated for several decades, but in 1984 the building was taken over by Conqueror Milling Company, who re-purposed the site for stockfeed manufacturing.
Recently, Conqueror general manager Alistair Pennington hired Coolamon business Regal Signs to restore the 1890s signwriting.
“As a business, we have a commitment to the community,” he said.
“It’s a feature and if we can maintain it in good shape, it’s there for future generations.
“It’s one of the entries to town on the southside of Cootamundra and the feature is the last thing you see when you head out of town on the Olympic Highway towards Wagga. Even before the sign was restored people would stop to take photos of it, so this will make it even more appealing.”
The original sign has been re-done. Photo: Supplied.
Regal Signs owner Ricky Hard, who has been working on the Coolamon Shire restore project, jumped at the chance to do it.
“My passion is restoring historic signs, but this was a challenging job because it was up at a height of around 17 metres. We get up with a big 80 ft boom lift. I did it with my nephew Ash Hard,” he said.
Even if you don’t have vertigo, it’s a nerve-wracking assignment.
“You know that you’re up there. My strategy is to never look down; I just concentrate on the job,” he said.
“It’s tough to work out what the original colour was, as there was some sun damage.
“As part of our restoration, we mark out the letters exactly where they are and paint them in. We never remove or delete the history, we follow the brushstrokes of whoever put it there as much as possible.”
The job isn’t for the faint-hearted. Photo: Supplied.
All up, it took the duo seven full days to complete the job but Mr Hard gave credit to Mr Pennington and his company, who did the whole project without any assistance from government or council.
“I like council and government, but you have to jump hoops to get funding,” Mr Pennington said.
“But I’d like them to consider funding similar projects in the future. It would be fantastic to have the derelict old Ampol signs restored, it was a key fuel dump when fuel rations were on, back in the days when you could only get two gallons. It’s great to recognise our history.”
