More than $730,000 and over a thousand hours of work later, the 155-year-old church has been restored as a fully "living" place of worship and community.
A special service was held yesterday to mark the reopening and restoration of the church.
Mr Railton said it was the culmination of nearly a decade’s worth of work.
"I’m absolutely delighted with the result.
"It’s like we’ve had to climb Mt Everest to get here.
"But we did it, step by step."
The work began in 2014, when the church community needed to repaint it.
They pulled off the weatherboards to find "water ingress" had taken its toll.
"I’m a civil engineer by background, so I wrote a report outlying what we were facing.
"I never expected the work required would be so extensive."
The church community raised more than $30,000 for the original quantity surveyor and conservation reports, which required them to go to major funding organisations.
"You can’t do this sort of thing with a cake sale these days.
"You have to go to the big groups," Mr Railton said.
The original quantity surveyor’s report estimated the full restoration could cost about $1 million.
"We didn’t know where to head to when we got those numbers."
Community appeals, which in turn led to lotteries grants and other sources of funding, meant they were able to source more than $730,000 for the restoration.
Mr Railton was project manager for the restoration.
He estimated he spent about 1100 hours on the project.
Construction started in January 2020, just before the pandemic.
"We came in well under the estimated $1m because we were able to save on project management consultancy fees.
"We were also lucky to have such a fastidious craftsman.
"He did a wonderful job.
"The bell tower was dismantled and rebuilt, every room was re-insulated, and there was a new sound system.
"But it was done in accordance with the original design.
"I’m just thrilled at how it turned out."
The church was now a "living church".
"It’s in such good condition we can even have weddings in the winter."
