Timber passion endures

At an age when most would be content to live out their days in peace and quiet, the respected Tablelands resident is doing quite the opposite.

Geoff shies away from acclaim but his workmanship speaks for itself in the abstract art pieces that adorn a number of public parks across the Tablelands.

His work sells at galleries in Herberton, Tolga and in the recently opened Artistree gallery at Yungaburra - a seller of high quality, beautifully handcrafted items - owned by Anthony and Larissa Kruck.

While he is known by many as an artist, Geoff, who is also a published poet, considers himself a "fiddler" or a "wood-mucker-abouter".

Geoff migrated from England (where he served in the Royal Navy during World War II) to Australia in 1948. In 1954, he met and married Honor in Townsville.

In 1967, Honor, a nurse, took on the position of matron at the Rowes Bay Bush Children's Home, with Geoff filling the role as secretary/manager.

The home was part of the Royal Queensland Bush Children's Health Scheme, founded in 1935 by the Governor of Queensland, Sir Leslie Orme Wison, to meet the health needs of children living in bush communities.

Geoff has fond memories of the days at the Rowes Bay home, now a police academy.

"In every small village, there was somebody in some way making a contribution to make it work," Geoff said. "The strength of the scheme was its many supporters and branches."

After two decades at the home, Geoff, then 64 years old, and Honor moved to the Tablelands - some would think for retirement.

But a new challenge beckoned the grandfather of three, who approached Tolga Woodworks for work and where his passion for timber began.

"They gave me a broom and I spent the next two years sweeping floors and being a general rouse-about," Geoff said.

"The good part was that I was associating daily with craftsmen.

"The grain in wood is like the threads of life - it goes in every direction."

Geoff, a Rotary member for more than 40 years, has turned lifeless pieces of timber into creative art - small and large including a carpenter's tool bag, scales and weight set and upside down tree.

He is now applying that same passion to his vision for a new tourist attraction on the Tablelands, a rock park.

Geoff's idea stems from the region's plentiful supply of rocks, some of which adorn his and Honor's garden at Tandara near Tolga.

Geoff wants to use the rocks as the basis for shade cover and have the parks established in rest areas throughout the Tablelands.

"We have enormous rocks, magnificent rocks from this area," Geoff said. "It would be low maintenance and durable for hundreds of years and have the ability to tell a story about a period of time.

"They could include interpretive information about the early pioneers and local Aboriginal people."

Geoff has received support from the Atherton Rotary Club, which is willing to accept donations, and is looking to the local council to do the same.

While he surrounds himself with positive, motivated people, Geoff is an inspiration himself.

"Attitude is more important than facts," Geoff said. "If you have the right attitude the world is a different oyster."