More than two decades ago, Broadland House School for Girls ceased to exist.
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But its history and the memories of the girls attending the school will live on through a stained glass window.
Broadland House Old Girls Association committee member Rosemary Stobart said it was the first time the students had a school chapel when they moved Launceston Church Grammar School after the amalgamation in 1982.
After the chapel was extended in 1996, two clear glass windows were installed.
One was replaced with a decorative stained glass window a decade later, but the other has remained untouched.
Now, the committee is only months away from installing a new window linking Broadland House to the modern-day school, raising the final funds through an embroidery exhibition.
Ms Stobart said the window showed the connection between the two schools as well as protecting the history of the amalgamated girl’s school.
It depicted two students, one older and the other younger, walking hand-in-hand towards the future, while wearing the former Broadland House uniform.
Tasmanian stained glass artisan Rolfe de la Motte started designing the window more than a year ago.
Finding a commission to create a new church or chapel window was a rarity as most of the work was original glass that only required restoring, de la Motte said.
“You grab the opportunity to be able to explore different techniques.”
It was satisfying to create an original work for the chapel, instead of repairing a window.
But it was no easy task.
He estimated hundreds of hours had been dedicated to creating the stained glass window.
Some of the glass is handblown, while other parts had to be handpainted.
When the new window is installed later this year, it will join another of his stained glass creations that he completed in the mid 1980s.
When he was first approached mid-2016, the committee had an idea and a rough sketch of what they wanted, but de la Motte dug deeper.
“You have to get inside their head and see what they actually want or what’s practical to do,” he said.
He visited the chapel several times to check the colours he planned to use in the window against the natural light.
President Dona Bradley said the window was not overtly religious and instead focused on the shared school history.
“The Old Girls decided they wanted to do a fundraiser,” Ms Bradley said.
As many of them were involved in an embroidery group, a fine arts and embroidery exhibition was chosen as a fundraiser, she said.
The exhibition would be held at the former Broadland House site, a further connection to the past, Ms Bradley said.
The Broadland House Old Girls have $5765 to go before the committee reaches its target of $28,200.
Most of the fundraising had been from donations from past pupils and staff, she said.
“We’re humbled by the support from the community.”
Although the window would be installed before the association holds its holy communion service in December, the window will not be dedicated until March by the Bishop of Tasmania.
- The Fine Arts and Embroidery Exhibition will be held at the former Broadland Campus at 10 Lyttleton Street from September 29 to October 1. Entry is $5.