A history in stonemasonry dating back to the Tudors
TO SAY the art of stonemasonry is in Barry Wakley’s blood would be an absolute understatement.
Stretching back more than 500 years, to the days when such skills were a jealously guarded secret, Barry’s ancestors were etching their names, quite literally, into the history of the United Kingdom.
If they weren’t helping to build the likes of Buckingham Palace and some of the other stone structures across the country, they were effecting repairs to Westminster Abbey, Windsor Castle and other national monuments on appointment to the Royals.
“The Queen Mother recognised my father for his services when he died in 1942,” said Barry, who for more than 40 years has operated Barry Wakley Sculptors and Monumental Masons in the local area.
“He was a highly skilled sculptor and stonemason, and from the age of two, when he gave me my first little tool kit, he taught me, not everything I know, but certainly a lot of it.
“Some say I got the gift from him,” he said.
Barry came to Australia in 1981 to take up a teaching position in stonemasonry at Collingwood College.
There was still a lot of work to be done repairing and even building stone buildings in Melbourne and regional Victoria, but there was also the bigger job of preparing personal monuments for cemeteries.
“We used to handmake the lettering and all back then.”
It wasn’t long before Barry could see a commercial demand for his work and he started out in business in 1984, later moving to the Korumburra area, and now Wonthaggi.
“We service 35 cemeteries, mostly across Gippsland, and I would have 1500 monuments in Korumburra alone.”
After working from a rural property just outside of Korumburra for most of that time, Barry set up a new workplace for Wakley stonemasons at Inverloch Road in Wonthaggi a few years ago, but the services of making cemetery monuments, sculptures and repairing existing stone works continue.
“We’d have over $30,000 worth of granite in stock now, but we’re happy to come and quote or to arrange a visit at any time.
“A few people have said to us that they didn’t know we were still in business, but we certainly are. We’re still doing most of the monumental work locally and will continue to do so.”
“Ancestors of mine have even been called on to repair some of the works by Michelangelo. In sculpture terms, I don’t suppose there’s a better recommendation than that,” said Barry.
“And thanks to my dear old dad, it’s a legacy that I now have and have been passing on to a new generation.”
You can contact Barry Wakley Sculptors and Monumental Masons by calling (03) 5657 3341 or email wakley.sculptor@outlook.com or by visiting 18 Inverloch Road, Wonthaggi from 8.30am to 2pm daily, by appointment on Saturday or Sunday.
