After five-and-a-half years of 1170 degree heat, the main furnace at the Canberra Glassworks has finally been turned off.
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In a dramatic display on Friday afternoon, head technician Tom Rowney ladled glowing molten glass out of the furnace, placing it into buckets of cold water on standby. The molten glass moved slowly but surely, and after cooling down in the water, caused chimneys of steam to shoot upwards and fill the building. With a flick of a switch, the furnace was finally turned off.
Mr Rowney said once the furnace has cooled down, it will crack and be removed.
Until Friday, the furnace had been burning 24 hours a day, seven days a week since it's installation in 2014, each week melting an estimated 250 kilograms of glass.
Mr Rowney built the last two main furnaces used by the facility, using and looking after them almost every day.
He described turning off his furnace as "quite a significant moment".
For years the furnace was used to melt and hold all glass used for glassblowing. It contributed to stunning pieces of art, with some of Canberra's most talented artists having shaped liquid glass from the furnace into sculptures and glassware, a glassworks spokesperson said.
It is only the second time a furnace has been turned off at the glassworks, where glass artists began working in 2007, with the last spectacle taking place in 2014.
While the furnace had been designed to last a number of years running non-stop, it was crucial for it to be replaced in order to maintain the quality of the glass it melts, Mr Rowney said.
"The furnace was insulated with seven different types of bricks and over time the glass slowly erodes the brickwork. If it wasn't being upgraded, there would be a risk the furnace would crack and contaminate the glass inside," he said.
A new type of furnace has already been set up to replace the old one. Imported from the United States, it will be able to hold 100 kilograms more glass than its predecessor. It will be installed as soon as the old furnace has cooled down. In the meantime, smaller pot furnaces will be used by Canberra's glass artists.
Mr Rowney has kept a goblet - the first piece he created from the furnace when it was installed - beside the furnace for its entire five-and-a-half-year life - a tradition he has kept up for each furnace he has managed.
"I'll probably take it home and finally drink from it tonight," he said.
