That was John Mason, Minister of the Hamilton Wesley Church 1985 - 1992.
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Reverend John Mason
Photograph from 'Hamilton Wesley, a continuing story 1858 - 1988'
by Don and Mavis Ebbott
by Don and Mavis Ebbott
The previous post showed how over the passage of some 150 years,
the fluctuating size of the church congregation dictated decisions about
buildings on the site. But there was another great challenge faced by the
modern day church that had nothing to do with numbers, and everything to do
with a natural catastrophe.
The 1989 Newcastle earthquake damaged the church building badly.
Its landmark tower had collapsed, and the northern and southern brick walls had
been blown out 7-8 centimetres into a precarious curve. The building could cave
in at any moment, bringing everything down.
The church had been covered with plastic to keep out rain,
and boarded up for safety.
Hamilton Wesley Church, 1990
Photograph from the personal collection of Mrs Mavis Ebbott
The custodians of the church acted quickly after the
disaster. Suters Architects were asked to assess the damage. Church decision
makers needed to expert advice on whether it would be worthwhile repairing the
building – if not, they would have to begin all over again.
The Army had been brought in to help with the emergency
response to the earthquake, and all over the city, buildings were being blown
up. 'They were having the time of their lives', John told me. In all, three
hundred buildings were demolished in Newcastle after the earthquake.
He resumes his story of what happened that morning.
'In a great flurry I rushed up Beaumont Street to see what
was going on. There was the Mayor, the Army people from Singleton, the police –
all standing around, waiting for the go-ahead'.
John describes how he confronted the group. 'Over my dead body!' he declared with all
the authority he could grasp. 'We’re waiting for the architects to tell us if
it can be saved – and they can’t get a cherry picker to get up into the roof because
there isn’t a cherry picker to be had in Newcastle!'
A loud argument ensued. 'We can’t wait', John was told.
Then, he saw a familiar figure approaching along Beaumont Street. It was Ed
Clode, a Suters architect. John called out to him immediately – 'I was never so
pleased to see anyone', John said.
Ed backed up John’s story. Leaving them in no doubt about
the consequences of going ahead, John reiterated his position: 'If you
continue, I’ll go in there, and then
you can blow it up'.
The Army sappers did desist, and probably went off to find
an easier target. An old cinema, perhaps the Century – built 1941 to seat an
amazing 1800 people....
The Century Cinema, Nine Ways, Broadmeadow, suffered irreparable damage
Photograph from the Hunter Region Ambulance Officers' Gazette, 1990,
courtesy Newcastle Region Library
The church was repaired. The tower was restored.
 |
Work underway to restore the Wesley Church Tower
Photograph courtesy of Chris Priest
In a
delicate engineering feat, the bowed walls were eased back into position over
many weeks of gentle pressure from huge strainer bars. Those bars have become
part of the historical fabric of the church.
Interior view of Wesley-on-Beaumont, with the horizontal strainer bars just visible, and close up, below (2013)
Reverend John Mason speaking at the interfaith thanksgiving service held following the earthquake,
From the calmer perspective of his retirement years, John
tells me:
'I do wonder whether I
did the right thing. We were insured, of course, and could have rebuilt. We
could have planned and built something more suited for contemporary church
life. But there it is, that’s what happened'.
Reverend John Mason speaking at the interfaith thanksgiving service held following the earthquake,
Beaumont Street, Hamilton 1990
Photograph from the personal collection of Mrs Mavis Ebbott
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Reverend John Mason and Mrs Mavis Ebbott for the story and photographs. Unattributed photographs by Ruth Cotton.
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