Bringing history back to life.

The Hope Springs woodworking program is one of the flagship programs at our facility.

Over the years our residents have created some incredibly unique and beautiful items, and this project is no exception. This project was all thanks to the generosity of a local station owner.

For the past two years, the station owner has allowed our team to gather fallen Raspberry Jam Wattle timber from a native bush-land area on their property. Over the years we have collected several tonnes of the timber, which has made a significant contribution to the woodworking program.

Last year, a conversation with the station owner led to a special residents’ woodworking project that would repay their generosity. A one-of-a-kind kitchen table would be created from old timber supplied by the station owner.

A trailer full of old Jarrah beams arrived, along with a timber wool press that the station owner believed was at least 120 years old. Even more amazing was the donation of $1500 worth of Makita power tools.

With such incredible raw materials to work from, and new tools to work with, the residents designed and crafted a table that highlighted the decorative elements of the wool press.

The project took six months and a great deal of care and patience to complete – the end result was a stunning piece of furniture.

Harley Royce, Facilities and Maintenance Coordinator at Hope Springs, said it was an absolute privilege to bring the historic wool press timber back to life.

“We were all really excited to work on this project,” he said. “It was wonderful to be able to create something to repay the generosity we were shown.”

Our woodworking program is one of our residents’ integral learning opportunities. As well as practical hands-on skills, woodworking promotes teamwork and encourages our residents to develop patience, planning skills, maths skills, problem solving and mindfulness.

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