Matthews Williams Solicitors and Conveyancing Forbes were honoured on Monday night when they were awarded the 2015 Forbes Medal for the historically accurate restoration work to their building.
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The restoration of the Lachlan Street building to its original facade was named the winner of the prestigious Forbes Medal at the annual Heritage Week presentation evening on Monday.
The project was up against some tough competition including the McLean Wing at Forbes Hospital, the Kate Kelly Trail, Forbes Museum and Central West Lifestyle magazine’s feature of Forbes.
Having been nominated for the award by the Parkes office, staff at Forbes Matthews Williams said the win was a nice surprise.
Solicitor Ben Mackay said the award means a lot and recognises the work that went into restoring the building.
“Matthews Williams has a long history in the area and are pleased to contribute to the heritage of Forbes,” he said.
“It’s a contribution to remember the past and looks fantastic and maintains the town’s connection with the past and the history of the place.
The project was a joint effort between the Matthews Williams partners, Forbes heritage advisor Graham Hall and builder Tim McCabe.
“We’re very thankful for the attention to detail that the heritage advisor Graham Hall and builder Tim McCabe brought,” Mr Mackay said.
Mr Hall, with the help from Forbes Historical Society, uncovered an old photograph that showed what the original Lachlan Chambers building looked like and from that photo he did a sketch, which was then used to draw up the restoration plans.
“I worked closely with Tim in transforming that into construction drawings to create an accurate reconstruction of the original,” he said.
The renovations took approximately four to five months to complete last year and included replacing the roof of the building, internal work, painting, a new awning, and a new facade which involved replacing the front door and windows and rendering and re-painting the brickwork.
At the presentation evening, Forbes heritage advisor Graham Hall said the judges had a very difficult time choosing a winner but believes Matthews Williams are very deserving of the accolade.
“I want to compliment the owners on taking the opportunity to restore the building,” he said.
“They had awnings that were not original, they were ugly and dangerous and they [Williams Matthews partners] grasped the opportunity to reinstate the original awning.
“It’s in a very important area, that civic area of Forbes near the Post Office and Town Hall.
“It’s a wonderful statement.”
Elizabeth New was awarded the other major prize of the evening - the Forbes Heritage Volunteer Award for her many years of volunteering with Forbes Historical Society.
