When the Burwood Inn was ravaged by a fire in June, much of the interior at the back of the pub didn't survive.
But amid the burnt walls and furniture at the Merewether pub, a commissioned artwork by Mitch Revs depicting the outside of the pub in Revs' distinctive cartoon style remained largely untouched by the flames.
"Someone was I guess looking over it," Revs said.
Unfortunately the frame suffered a bit, meaning the work couldn't be saved.
But Revs has managed to reprint and frame the work, meaning it will go back on the wall in the pub when it re-opens.
"It's nice to know that people enjoy the artworks and to give Tony another one of these to hang the pub when it's finished. It's a great feeling for sure."
Having grown up in Merewether, Revs described the fire as "a tragedy".
"Everyone from Merewether and the surrounding suburbs love it here," he said.
"I remember having dinner here with the family and there's just so many memories here.
"It's a tragedy and having to rebuild it is sad. But, we've got a strong community so I'm sure no doubt it'll come back 10 times stronger."
Publican Tony Dart said Mitch recreating the artwork "once again shows the community spirit" since the fire.
"We've had mountains of it," he said. "When the fire first happened, the offers of help and support, it was outstanding.
"It's unreal that Mitch is basically handing us back a new one and we'll be able to put it back where it was before in the same spot."
Mr Dart said the scope of works would soon go out to builders, but was unsure of an opening date for the pub.
"When do we open again... how long is the piece of string," he said.
"It'll just be talking to builders and once the roof goes back on the courtyard we should have a better idea."
