IT'S Jeremy Mundey's job to ensure heritage items within the walls of Newcastle's Christ Church Cathedral are removed with meticulous care.
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The IAS Fine Art Logistics general manager and his team are no strangers to the delicate, fragile and valuable. They have been tasked with clearing the cathedral before it undergoes a major restoration.
The place of worship has more than 175 years of history, 28 roofs and is expected to undergo 90 weeks of construction over eight stages to preserve the building for generations to come.
Mr Mundey said when it comes to cleanliness and a controlled environment, his storage facilities are second only to medical-grade ones.
"We treat every object we move with the utmost care," he said.
"When we get those [items] down, we obviously assess them and pack them with the appropriate materials, make sure they're all stable for transport, and then get them back to climate-controlled storage for short or long-term storage, as long as they need to be."
Paintings, tapestries, heritage chests and drawers and religious iconography are among the treasures Mr Mundey's team has handled with as little movement as possible.
One flag will remain at the cathedral, considered "extremely fragile" with delicate fibres and estimated to be well over 100 years old.
Mr Mundey doesn't just move art. His team has moved science collections, nanoscience, huge art collections and medical collections for universities.
The business was one of the first art transport businesses set up in the country in 1987 and started in Sydney with a truck and two staff.
Mr Mundey bought the business in 2003 when it was only Sydney-based and has grown it to a national operation.
"We have a very large, or the largest, commercial art or museum standard storage in Australia, and we do international shipments in and out of Australia as well," he said.
"So we cover the entire industry, and we move other objects and things that are fragile, delicate and valuable."
Over the next 18 months, an insurance-led restoration project will target repairing copper roofs that were damaged at the cathedral as a result of prolonged storm damage.
The building sits at the centre of Newcastle's skyline and played a central role in its appointment as a city in 1847.
The work will repair copper roofs, the roof drainage system, repair water-damaged fabrics and include general maintenance to address wear and environmental factors affecting the cathedral.
Stage one will include roofing works to ensure waterproofing is complete before the masonry is washed, followed by masonry repairs.
External works will involve masonry cleaning and repairing window damage, while inside the focus will be on replacing damaged carpet in the Angel's Gallery, internal window repairs, timber repair and cleaning.
Christ Church Cathedral has been a site of worship for more than 190 years.
In 1812, a temporary church building was erected on the cathedral site which was replaced in 1818 by a small building called Christ Church.
Both buildings were convict-built with stone from Nobbys beach.
In 1883, construction of the present cathedral began with a design by John Horbury Hunt, built piece by piece for nearly 100 years.
Madeline Link
Madeline Link is a born and bred Novocastrian who started her career as a journalist in the New England North West in 2016. She is an experienced council and court reporter, former deputy editor of the Northern Daily Leader and two-time Kennedy Award finalist. In unrelated incidents, she previously reported on country music in Australia's country music capital and was once flung across Lake Macquarie in a power boat at more than 100 kilometres per hour. Maddie now works at the Newcastle Herald with a focus on Newcastle council. To keep up with my stories, follow my X @madeline_link, for tips email madeline.link@newcastleherald.com.au.
