Fitting out starts

The internal fitting out began - in true top-down fashion, with the ceiling lining.

We bought a truckload of local hoop pine lining boards and treated them with a penetrating oil before fitting them. This gave them a lovely warm satin glow at night under artificial lighting.

Rockin' & Rollin'

The scaffold we used to access the ceiling in the main room - a thing of beauty indeed - from the ground!


It had its own peculiar rhythm which assisted in keeping anyone on it focused and alert!


Working on the scaffold was a lot like (I imagine) working on the sailing ships - we had to learn to keep our arms steady while our legs were compensating for the unique undulations in the support.

Eventually everyone had an opportunity to sway and pray 4 metres from the ground.

The trimming complete

a lovely timber tiara for the main room resulted.

As with the ceiling structure, no two pieces of timber met at right angles, each cut needed to be measured for angles in two directions.

The final steps before dismantling

Our last chance to access the apex of the ceiling , we added a 3m stepladder to the scaffold to clean the cupola and remove the detritus of 18 months.

We had thought the scaffold was a challenge (to stand on in a relaxed manner) - standing on that step ladder added a new dimension in tension - we got there though!