Heritage builder Murray Ings is racing against time and the elements to prevent some of Lismore's oldest and most gracious buildings from crumbling beyond repair.
Soon after twin floods hit the northern New South Wales city in February and March, Mr Ings was optimistic about his work restoring more than 20 retail spaces in the central business district.
With the sodden gyprock and false ceilings removed from the buildings, the true beauty of these structures was revealed.
Mr Ings said the buildings, when stripped back to their original states, were clearly designed to withstand flooding.
Even with the record-breaking 14 metres of water that inundated the CBD in the February 28 flood, original tiled walls and asbestos flooring remained undamaged.
Pressed-metal ceilings that had been hidden above one or even two false ceilings were above the flood height; framework made from precious hardwoods such as cedar and oak were revealed.
Mr Ings said the biggest revelation was the overall design of the buildings, with vents in the brickwork that allowed them to breathe, and vast skylights built to penetrate three storeys and illuminate the entire interior in an era before electricity.
"I can really appreciate the timbers that are in these buildings, the outright beauty of them, the craftsmanship and the design," he said.
"All these timbers would have been cut from the Big Scrub that once covered this area, you can't get them again.
Richmond River Historical Society president Robert Smith said Lismore's oldest buildings, some dating back to the late 1800s, were a reflection of settlers trying to make a good life in a flood-prone land.
"The buildings are our response to our environment and that history should be sustained going forward," Mr Smith said.
Lifting people's spirits
Uncovering these treasures has lifted the spirits of many people in the flood-stricken community.
Mieke Bell has been working with a team of volunteers to restore north Lismore's Winsome Hotel, a gracious 1925 building listed on the National Trust register that now serves as the city's soup kitchen.
After the piles of flood debris had been ripped out and trucked away, the pub's original and completely intact tiles were revealed.
"It really lifted the spirits of everyone in the building who had been cleaning and wrecking and taking down gyprock," Ms Bell said.
"It changed the whole atmosphere, it was amazing, it was wonderful.
"It showed us that we could actually present a different Winsome, a heritage Winsome, we could see the potential of creating an amazing space here.
Ken Arnett and his family have an 80-year connection to the historic Star Court Arcade and still own several shops that were completely submerged on February 28.
Mr Arnett is adamant the city can bounce back.
"I'd love to get it back to looking like it used to because it was beautiful when I was a child down here, and I think we can make it beautiful again."
Last year dressmaker Susan Dasya bought a three-storey 1914 building in downtown Lismore with plans to use it as a shop, workshop and living quarters.
Historical records show the building originally housed tailors, milliners and glove makers, and there is evidence in the worn floorboards of countless hours of workers at their treadle sewing machines.
Yellow-and-red chequered asbestos flooring uncovered on the ground level of her building is thought to be made of tiles that came to Lismore as ballast aboard the ships that navigated the Richmond and Wilsons rivers to the inland port city.
Race to save buildings
Despite these discoveries, the rollercoaster ride of flood recovery is continuing.
Mr Ings said ongoing wet and cold weather and a lack of equipment to dry out the old buildings had created a situation where some of the city's heritage could be lost.
He said in many buildings the moisture had caused the lime to leach out of the render and mortar between the bricks.
"We are losing whole walls, the brickwork is wet behind so it is going to take a lot longer than what we were hoping."
Mr Ings said industrial dryers were urgently needed in every building, but they were proving impossible to source and the cost of hiring them was prohibitive for landlords hit by the floods.
"We haven't got six months to wait for these dryers, we need them now, we needed them when the water went down.
"The longer this is left, the bigger the problem is."
Lismore MP Janelle Saffin said the city-built heritage was too precious to be abandoned.
She said she had already spoken with the head of the new Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation about the importance of preserving and enhancing the region's built heritage as it works to "build back better".
She said better planning and mitigation should be the way forward.
"We've got all these wonderful, cultural heritage values and now is the time to bring them together."
"You don't walk away from your culture, you don't walk away from your past, because that is what helps shape your future."
