Laurie Atkins, President, Vic
Laurie has been a member of the DSWAA since about 2016 and joined the committee in 2019 to lend support in the area of documenting dry stone structures.
He has been keen to develop his own practical skills at walling and has undertaken short courses and workshops with David long, Alistair Tune, Geoff Duggan, Josh Bowes and most recently Emma Knowles.
Outside of dry stone walls, Laurie’s training is in Agricultural Science and his professional work has involved data analysis and data collection design.
Raelene Marshall, Vice President, Vic
Raelene is an arts and culture practitioner. She was commissioned by the Australia Council to research drystone structures in the Grizedale Forest, Cumbria, UK. She curated the exhibition; A Stone Upon A Stone; undertook the Shire of Melton Dry Stone Walls Pride of Place Study and represented Australian at the Societe Pierre Seche, presenting at their bi-annual International Congresses.
Bruce Munday, Treasurer, Editor of TFS, SA
Bruce and his wife Kristin for 42 years ran a cattle property in the Adelaide Hills from which Bruce also worked as a communications consultant. He has had a long fascination with dry stone walls, built a few, run workshops and published a book on dry stone walls in SA: Those Dry-stone Walls. His most recent published book, Those Wild Rabbits, describes herculean but futile attempts to control the pest by every conceivable means including dry stone walls.
Stuart Read, Secretary, NSW
Stuart Read is a landscape architect, bureaucrat and educator focussed on the contribution heritage landscapes make to sustainable economies. He helps the NSW Heritage Council identify, list, assess and manage key places and has worked for the Australian Heritage Commission and Environment Australia’s world heritage & biodiversity units. He has studied gardens in Australasia, Asia, the Middle East and Europe, including a 2005 Pratt Foundation overseas fellowship study tour of, then in 2010 led a tour of Spanish gardens. Stuart has been an expert member of ICOMOS-IFLA’s international scientific committee on cultural landscapes since 2008. He contributed to the National Trust of Australia (NSW) book Interwar Gardens – a guide… (2003), Gardens of History & Imagination: Growing New South Wales (2016). Stuart wrote Spanish lessons for Australian Gardens... (2005) and contributes to Garden Drum and Australian Garden History.
Jim Holdsworth, Accreditation Working Group
Jim is Past-President, an architect and town planner. While his work is mainly in inner Melbourne he has always been interested in the history of how Australia developed and travels widely in regional areas. He says; Preserving and celebrating the best dry stone structures will allow the stories behind and within them to be remembered and told.
Geoff Duggan, NSW
Master Craftsman dry stone waller, Geoff Duggan is an advanced instructor, examiner and professional member of the Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain. As Director of Geogenic Landscapes, he is also a horticulturist, landscaper and Landscape Architect. His interest is in native plants and all aspects of dry stone walling from free standing walls, retaining walls and their incorporation into landscape, design and sculptural projects. Passionate about his craft and passing on his knowledge, he has conducted over 130 dry stone walling workshops over the last 20+ years.
Lyn Allison, Vic, Communications and membership
Lyn was formerly a Senator for Victoria and held the environment and heritage portfolios for the Australian Democrats. She was, prior to that, an art and design teacher.
Andrew Garner, Tas
Andrew is a DSWA-accredited (UK) waller who has worked professionally in northern Tasmania since 2004 on numerous projects for private, heritage and government sectors. He joined the committee in 2019
Jane Boot, Vic
Jane is a farmer in Western Victoria with many dry stone walls on her property. She has a longstanding interest and involvement in heritage and conservation.
Joshua Henderson
Joshua is a traditional (heritage) stonemason and can be found working on the facades of Melbourne’s cathedrals, churches, universities and schools. He is qualified both in Landscape Construction and Stonemasonry. As an apprentice he helped build contemporary stone walls and structures in the open spaces throughout Melbourne’s growth corridors. It is here in the urban fringes and with changing land use that Joshua first observed and began an appreciation of our dry stone wall legacy.