She has since done everything in her power to ensure Bendigo’s beloved imperial dragon is looking his best.

But this year’s efforts are something else. Ms Jones is part of a team of local volunteers and Hong Kong-based professionals restoring Sun Loong.

“IT’S the longest hem I’ve ever done,” a volunteer said as she proudly surveyed the restoration work on Sun Loong’s body.

Even from the ground floor of the Golden Dragon Museum, members of the Embroiderers Guild Victoria Bendigo branch could see where the 100-metre long imperial dragon had been tended to.

The freshly restored scales glistened from the museum’s upper floor, drawing their attention.

RELATED: First glimpse of Dai Gum Loong

It has been months since the work started, but the volunteers’ sense of honour at being involved in the project has yet to fade. 

“It’s really special to be part of this,” Dale Little, an Embroiderers Guild Victoria Bendigo branch member, said. 

The restoration and preservation of Sun Loong was part of the campaign for his replacement – Dai Gum Loong, or ‘Big Gold Dragon’.

Efforts to ensure the 49-year-old dragon is in prime condition for permanent storage in the Golden Dragon Museum are about three-quarters complete.

The museum’s general manager, Anita Jack, has hand-delivered three shipments of scales to Peng Chau Island in Hong Kong for restoration since the project started.

There, dragon maker Ringo Leung set up a conservation work room where six people worked on the project, daily, for four months.

Ms Jack said some of the brass detailing on the scales had oxidised throughout the years.

Bendigo-based volunteer Kirstie Jones said some scales had also flexed out of shape.

Most of Sun Loong’s scales date back to 1969, when he was created.

The dragon was extended by 100 feet in 1979, after Melbourne’s Dai Loong challenged him for the title of world’s longest imperial dragon.

The Lo On Kee workshop did the work on Sun Loong both times, but the materials used in 1979 did not hold up as well as those employed to create the original length.

So Sun Loong’s newest scales were the first to be restored. 

RELATED: All imperial dragons to parade for first time in Bendigo's history at 2019 Easter Festival - and women can carry new Dai Gum Loong

Hundreds of scales have yet to be cleaned to perfection, but will be tended to locally.

The efforts of Bendigo-based volunteers have included stitching together sets of scales and affixing them to the dragon’s body, as well as repairing beadwork along the dragon’s length.

Volunteers from the Embroiderers Guild Victoria Bendigo branch said the project had given them an appreciation for how Sun Loong was put together – something Ms Jones has become familiar with in the 11 years she has been maintaining him.

“I understand how he is put together,” she said.

Volunteers from the Embroiderers Guild Victoria Bendigo branch have been in awe of how quickly Ms Jones can sew together a strip of Sun Loong’s scales. 

Ms Jack is confident Sun Loong’s restoration will be finished well ahead of the Bendigo Easter Festival, which runs from April 19 – 22.

She said both Dai Gum Loong and his predecessor should be ready about a month in advance, with opportunities for people to see the new dragon before the festival.

RELATED: Dragon maker chosen to create Dai Gum Loong

Representatives from the City of Greater Bendigo, the Golden Dragon Museum and the Bendigo Chinese Association will travel to Hong Kong to see the head, tail and neck of the new dragon blessed at the weekend.

The blessing is part of the dragon-making process and will prepare Dai Gum Loong for the journey to Bendigo, where he will be awakened with another ceremony.

The new dragon will be welcomed to the city and paraded through its streets at Easter by all of the city’s processional dragons, including Loong and Sun Loong.

Ms Jack said Dai Gum Loong, Sun Loong and Loong share the same scale DNA.

Dragon making techniques have moved on since the city’s first imperial dragon was created, making the process of Dai Gum Loong’s creation all the more special.

“They don’t make individual scales for dragons now,” Ms Jack said. 

She was heartened by the Bendigo community’s feedback to its first glimpse of Dai Gum Loong, which was released last week.

Several of the Bendigo-based volunteers have family coming to the Bendigo Easter Festival, in part to see their handiwork.

“My grandchildren will be pretty impressed,” Embroiderers Guild Victoria Bendigo branch president Jenny Campbell said.

Ms Jack said this year’s Easter parade would be all the more special because the dragon maker, Master Hui, and his team at Hung C Lau would be there.

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