John Bucknell. Ace wood carver, teller of martini-dry jokes, and always up for a story
over a cuppa and an Anzac or two. A few years back, JB brought his bedraggled pond yacht
into the Mens Shed. This little boat, about 50cm long, made of timber and various bits of tin,
had been made by an inmate at Pentridge Prison in the 1960s and gifted to 6-year-old John
through his father, William, a warden at the gaol.
But now? Oh dear. The mast and rigging were askew, the steering missing vital parts,
and the sails limp and tired.
With Johns memories of sun-filled days at Coburg Lake and how the yacht had once
been, and assistance from the Pentridge Museum Trust, we at the Shed restored the little boat
to its former state.
We used string from an old sugar sack, eyelets from a rescued mailbag, pillowcase
cotton for the sails, old galvanized iron for the rigging bowsies, and rescued copper from a
gutter for the steering gear – we even matched the paint that adorned the hull and keel with
the colour used inside the prison walls back in the 60s.
The lovely little thing cut a fine jib sailing around Stanny Creek lagoon in a blustery
southerly!
And, after Johns family renewed their friendship with the yacht, they very kindly
donated it to the Prison Museum, where it is now on display. The National Trust will also be
displaying the boat in the future.
So, what is the lesson to be learned? Whatever is old can be new again; what is
broken can be mended; things worth doing are worth doing well.
Especially a life. Your life. Come visit us at the Men's Shed and see what we can do
for you.