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Three quarters of a tonne of glass and lead were installed in the window frames of Winthrop Hall over the past few weeks.

The journey from the hailstorm that smashed the historic stained glass windows in March last year to the reinstatement of the iconic building's former glory was a long and winding one.

Hugh McCaffrey, building services manager, was a fast-moving hero of the hailstorm destruction. Within 24 hours, the shattered windows were made safe with his ingenious perspex sandwiches, a glassmaker in the US was sourced anda leadlight craftsman found in Perth. The leading came from Victoria.

Matching the colour and texture of the original glass made in Birmingham in the 1930s was the first challenge for the Paul Wissmach Glass Company in West Virginia.

"We insisted that all the sheets were from the same batch, to eliminate the possibility of variation in colour density," said Chris Rumble from Creative Glass in Bayswater.

The deadline for the installation was early February so Winthrop Hall would be clothed in its full splendour for the Foundation Dinner, kicking off the centenary celebrations.

But it was not to be. "The glass was trucked across the US to California but on the day it was supposed to be shipped to Australia, the port of Long Beach had its busiest day ever and the wharves were closed down. So it missed the ship and was put on the next ship - which took the glass to Taiwan," Chris said.

"From there it was eventually shipped to Queensland where the floods then held it up on the wharves. It eventually arrived at our workshop on February 5, but, with graduations in the Hall, we couldn't start installing it until the middle of April."

Each of the eight windows is seven metres high and a metre wide, with 6.5 metres of glass. The windows weigh 98 kilograms, including 52.5 kg of lead and 45 kg of glass.

Chris and fellow stained glass craftsman Vaughn Bisschops worked together on the renovation of St Mary's Cathedral in Perth.

They were assisted in the Winthrop Hall installation by staff from Facilities Management.

The first event in the Hall after it has been restored to splendour is the School of Music's Artistry! concert on Friday 6 May.

The program, En Francais, will feature the School's Winthrop Professor Paul Wright, Associate Professor Alan Lourens and Dr Peter Moore, and University organist Annette Goerke. The School of Music Choir will join with the UWA Choral Society choir to create a 150-voice tribute for the choral society's 80th anniversary.

Published in UWA News , 2 May 2011