On this day in 1994, Jindabyne resident Nancy Leary sat on the remains of St Columbkille's Catholic Parish to reminisce her experiences in the church.
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The church had disappeared from site due to the water level of Lake Jindabyne. It now stands above the receding water level. The church used to overlook Jindabyne.
Ms Leary said "it was lovely to see the old church again, it brings back a lot of memories". She shared various memories of her fortnightly masses at the parish.
The townspeople had voluntarily built the parish along with Ms Leary's father, Herb Williams. Ms Leary got married at the church in 1947.
The church had been the location of key moments in her life.
She recalled being surprised at the large crowd that were gathered in celebration of her nuptials as she walked down the aisle.
It was the location chosen for the christening of her four kids and the funeral service for the unexpected death of her husband, Loy Rankin.
Ms Leary spoke about the day they moved to a new town in 1964.
She said "I know we all had to move with progress and we have a lot of things now that we didn't have before, but it was sad because it was a lovely old town".
She recalled her mother-in-law bringing morning tea to the priests in the sacristy on the fortnightly days of mass. Whenever the St Columbkille's Catholic Church ruins appeared every few years due to the reduction of Jindabyne's water levels, it was a special day for the residents of the old town.
The area symbolised almost 200 years of family history for the residents of the close-knit community. It was a reminder of how far they had come from the first settlement in Jindabyne to the eventual submergence of the homes and buildings after the development of the Snowy Mountains hydroelectric scheme.
Ms Leary said "all the townspeople get a kick out of it when the church comes back out".
