Blackall Range Woodies, Maleny, Woodworkers

Although born in Maitland in NSW and attending school at the local Marist Brothers, our man-ofmany-\ parts, Dave saw the light and moved to the sunnier climes of Queensland and the Northern Territory.

His enjoyment of working with wood was initiated through his working in a furniture factory where he made a range of items, principal of which were coffins!. Having had his fill of terrorising timber Dave then turned his education to discovering the joys of painting – a skill which he has honed over the past 30 years.

His lucky (his words, not mine Ed.) number came up and he was conscripted into the Armed forces where he spent a bit over two years. Tours of duty in Vietnam and Malaya saw him emerge with many memories, lots of mates and a willingness to find out a bit more about life. He ventured to Darwin where his painting skills saw him develop a large company contracting to paint business stores, houses and highrises.

As a very keen fisherman he managed to deplete the fish stocks in the Darwin area so he moved to Cairns where he concentrated on painting highrise buildings. After 18 years Dave moved further south to a small orchard producing mango and lychee at Avondale north of Bundaberg. This convinced Dave that he was not cut out to be a primary producer; fiddling about in boats and feeding fish proved a greater attraction than painting, so Dave retired. Two sons ensured Dave was kept on his toes and once they were settled, he moved to Landsborough to care for his aged Mother.

Seeking out some like-minded woodies, he joined the Caloundra Woodies and the Maleny Arts & Crafts groups for a time. He then discovered our group with lots of woody type toys and plenty of timber & has been a notable fixture ever since.

His decision to retire has been to our advantage as his multi-skilling and his many talents are much appreciated in the club. He’s generally to be found with a paint brush or spray gun in hand advising on how we should finish items or just digging in and helping with our many club projects.

Although busy in the club, he still finds time for his favourite fishing pastime in NZ, or the tropical north, where the tales of fishing exploits get bigger and bigger!.