That is until Glen Innes Severn mayor Colin Price dug a little deeper and sought to have the Library Resource Centre conference room named in honour of William Gardner, a local historian whose work has flown under the radar for decades.

At the unveiling of this longawaited display produced by local artist Max Powell, the evidence was undeniable – the William Gardner diaries are some of the most detailed available from such early times.

Mr Powell, once a teacher of ceramics, used some of those skills in the production of intricate porcelain images he designed and developed through a process of modelled clay, plaster and finally into lomoge porcelain.

These three-dimensional sculptures take pride of place on several panels in between other panels produced by Photo Create.

Mr Powell had no previous knowledge of William Gardner, but has found the research process incredibly fascinating.

“I have learned a lot about the man and the region from that era,” he said.

“He recorded a wealth of information that provides a snapshot into local life during the 1850s era.”

William Gardner was brought to the attention of council and Glen Innes Historical Society back in 2011. Library services manager Kerry Byrne said she was approached by Mayor Price to research the opportunity and the man in question for a more substantial interpretive storyboard to provide a snapshot of the work done by William Gardner in his time on the Tablelands.

“In my research on William Gardner, who came to the region as a tutor on various properties, I was surprised at the amount of information and detail he recorded,”Ms Byrne said.

“He has accumulated the information in detail on so many historical aspects of the area and recorded it in two manuscripts of 600 pages each.”

The originals are held in the Mitchell Library, NSW State Library.

Ms Byrne has been painstakingly searching for funding and suitable ways to get the story of this unsung hero out into the public domain, which also led her to Armidale-based heritage advisor Graham Wilson. Mr Wilson, a former teacher, was a speaker at the unveiling and said the final product is a remarkable achievement.

“It’s highly imaginative and it creates a very powerful image,” Mr Wilson said.

“Initially I helped identify the text for the panels, but then it was left to the artist,” Mr Wilson said.

He believes the complete work really shows the creative ability of the artist in presenting material from the William Gardner manuscripts in such a way that will be understood by everyone.

“They way the text is combined with visual aspects from the journals is highly imaginative,” he said.

The project has received acclaim from many quarters and highlighted aspects of history that generate interest in the community.

“Since 2011 I have been looking for a suitable way to inform people about this great man when they visit the Learning Centre,” Ms Byrne said.

“I don’t think you’d find the sort of detail William Gardner recorded too often. It’s simply extraordinary,” she said.

Council provided some funding, while Howard Eastwood from Photo Create offered the facilities, materials and time for part of the project development.

“I approached Max Powell with the idea of using the hallway approach to the conference room as a gradual progression to build on the understanding of William Gardner’s work,” Ms Byrne said.

“And this is what he came up with – an inspiring artwork series that depicts the images and recorded detail stored in the pages of William Gardner’s manuscripts.”

The NSW State Library, Glen Innes and District Historical Society Inc also provided tremendous support for this project.

Ms Byrne said the large panels have attracted a lot of interest and comment from the public, and added that a brochure has also been produced.

“We also have permission to have the manuscripts copied so they will be available here for others to see this amazing work.”

Mr Wilson’s involvement in local history continued after the unveiling when he presented a talk to a packed venue on war memorials and the importance they represent in regional towns. The interest he witnessed astounded him, he said, and is due in part to the national interest building as Australia commemorates the centenary of WW1.