HISTORIC buildings in Buninyong are seeing their landmark facades replicated for an express, or standard delivery, purpose.<\/p>\n
After creating a mailbox replica of the Old Buninyong Library, Buninyong Men\u2019s Shed member Jeffrey Douglass has his hands full building projects for others looking to get in on the tiny town fun.<\/p>\n
With his follow-up, a diminutive depiction of the Buninyong Community House, installed earlier this month, Mr Douglass said he\u2019s overwhelmed by the local response.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe talk\u2019s been all over town,\u201d he said. \u201cMessage gets around especially in a small village like Buninyong.<\/p>\n
\u201cA couple residents have asked for one at their houses too. I\u2019ve got another one that\u2019s just come in from the Meredith History Interest Group.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce words gets around more, I\u2019ll probably finish up with an anchor around my neck.\u201d<\/p>\n
Working with a single photograph as reference, Mr Douglass said his mailboxes aren\u2019t meant to be precise recreations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re not exactly to scale but in proportion,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re a representation, if you like.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re mostly timber though the community house one has a metal roof and a metal roof on the veranda because the original building has a corrugated iron roof.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe other one for the old library, you can\u2019t see the roof on that because it\u2019s flat and a very ornate facade so there\u2019s just a timber roof for that one.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Buninyong local for seven years, and a Ross Creek resident before that, Mr Douglass worked as a plumber and taught various trades for 25 years at institutions in New South Wales until the mid-1990s.<\/p>\n
He also credits his grandfather, who was an architectural model maker, as an influence on his current projects.<\/p>\n
An early member of the Buninyong Men\u2019s Shed for the past decade, Mr Douglass often makes cabinets and children\u2019s toys through the group.<\/p>\n
At 83 years old, Mr Douglass said the letterboxes as well as his other hands-on projects with the Men\u2019s Shed are a rewarding way to keep active.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like to keep myself busy, keep my mind active and my skills up. That\u2019s basically what the shed\u2019s about,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is just one of the ways I do it. I enjoy working with my hands and tools, and I actually enjoy trying to give others in the shed these skills too if they want them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
HISTORIC buildings in Buninyong are seeing their landmark facades replicated for an express, or standard delivery, purpose. After creating a mailbox replica of the Old Buninyong Library, Buninyong Men\u2019s Shed member Jeffrey Douglass has his hands full building projects for others looking to get in on the tiny town fun. With his follow-up, a diminutive […]<\/p>\n