What Makes A Life Worth Building - Guy Ireland

In Episode 2 of Latitude 40 Season 2, Jamie West sits down with long-time island builder Guy Ireland for a warm and thoughtful conversation about life, resilience and community on Flinders Island.

From an unexpected encounter with hitchhikers in New Zealand that eventually led him to the island, to decades spent building homes, mentoring apprentices and supporting local organisations, Guy reflects on a life shaped by hard work, connection and purpose.

The conversation explores what it takes to build and run a business in a remote place, the importance of passing skills to the next generation, and the sense of community that keeps people anchored to island life.

Guy also speaks openly about the life-changing accident that left him paralysed, and the determination that has helped him continue contributing to the community he cares deeply about.

If you enjoy honest stories about resilience, island life, and the people who build more than houses, subscribe to Latitude 40, share this with a mate, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show. What small decision ended up changing your life?

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Guy Ireland
Long-time Flinders Island builder, mentor and community contributor who has spent more than three decades helping shape the island through his work, volunteering and support for younger generations.

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About Latitude 40

Latitude 40 is a podcast by the Furneaux Collective celebrating the people, stories and spirit of the Furneaux Islands.

Each episode shares conversations with people whose lives and experiences help shape the character and future of our island community.

If you'd like to provide feedback on this podcast, we'd welcome your comments at crew@furneauxcollective.com

Transcript

Jamie West:
Hello, and welcome to Latitude 40. I’m your host, Jamie West, and this is my first ever podcast. Thank you so much for joining me.

Today I’m speaking with someone who, by chance, picked up a couple of hitchhikers on New Zealand’s North Island. Little did he know that this kind gesture would lead him on a journey to Australia, then Tasmania, and finally Flinders Island, where he would fall in love, marry, and later make his life.

It wasn’t until a few years later — after starting a family, supporting his wife’s career as a speech pathologist, and honing his building skills on the north-west and west coasts of Tasmania — that the opportunity arose to live and establish himself as a builder and carpenter on Flinders Island.

My guest, Guy Ireland — a father, now grandfather, husband, builder, and a bona fide source of inspiration for many of our island folk — joins me today to share his story of coming to Flinders Island, and to reflect on the challenges, experiences and insights of building and construction here.

Guy, thank you for joining me to share your story today.

Guy Ireland:
Absolutely delighted.

Jamie West:
Guy, let’s start at the beginning. You picked up two hitchhikers on New Zealand’s North Island, and somehow that simple act of kindness eventually led you to Australia, Tasmania, and finally Flinders Island.

Can you take us back to that moment?

Guy Ireland:
Well, I can. Oddly enough, I was in Auckland to finish my apprenticeship because the company I worked for in Christchurch went bankrupt. A friend of mine lived in Auckland and said, “Why don’t you come to Auckland?” So I thought, well, why not? I took my old ute and headed north.

I didn’t quite finish my apprenticeship in Auckland because that company was also laying off staff. But anyway, that was my time in Auckland. I was there for about a year, and during that time Lois and several of her friends were hitchhiking around New Zealand. Her mother had said, “I don’t want to see you hitchhiking.”

I always remember her telling me that. But the girls did, and there were four of them, so they split into pairs because they thought it’d be easier to get into a car if there were only two.

Ted — my best man later at our wedding — said, “Well, there we are. Why don’t we pick those two girls up? We’re heading out to a camping ground?”

And I said, “No, no, I don’t want to pick up these girls.”

Anyway, one thing led to another, so we picked them up. It wasn’t Lois, it was Jeanette and Ann, I think. We took them back to a camping ground in the Bay of Islands. We all hit it off and went to the pub that night for tea, and the next day we showed them around.

We had four girls in the back of a white Triumph. I always remember Ted having that car. He was very proud of it.

A few days later I said, “Well, I’m going back to Christchurch. Are you coming down?” So I went back to Christchurch for a few days. The girls, I think, might have bussed down to Christchurch via Taupō and Wellington, and eventually they ended up in Christchurch.

So one thing led to another, and I had a Hillman Hunter which I gave to the girls to drive around in. They had the car for a week in Christchurch. They bought me a T-shirt actually — something like, “Mad Aussies Love Me” — and talk about crying, I’ll show you that T-shirt one day.

I was just out of my time and I said to the girls I was going to Sydney, because I thought everyone went to Sydney. Bondi was the place to go. That’s where New Zealanders went.

And they said, “No, come to Melbourne.”

I had actually intended going to Europe when I got out of my apprenticeship because one of my ambitions was to watch cricket at Lord’s. Well, it never happened unfortunately, but it still might — who knows?

So one thing led to another, and Ted and I eventually arrived in Melbourne. We got a job at Swinburne College of Technology as maintenance builders, which we thoroughly enjoyed. We were there for, I’m not quite sure now, maybe a year, maybe 18 months.

In the meantime, the girls showed us around Victoria, and I sort of hit it off with Lois. We used to go down to the Grampians on weekends in the old panel van and do what young people do. It was a lovely time. I thoroughly enjoyed those days.

We had good jobs and we were earning twice what we were in New Zealand. To us, it was big money. We were earning a couple of hundred dollars a week and we were stoked. Ted bought a little Mini and I bought a panel van.

Eventually, I toured Australia with Lois’s friend Jeanette. Unfortunately, Jeanette died, and that was a terribly sad time. But anyway, that’s life.

We gradually worked our way around Australia and then came back to Melbourne, and then Lois got transferred to Devonport. She had the option of Devonport or Burnie. For some reason she chose Devonport. Don’t quite know why. Luckily she did, because we had very close to 10 years in that area. She was well respected as a speechie.

I got a job. There were a couple of recessions and I had to go on my own. Unfortunately it wasn’t successful, and I was glad to go back on wages. Then eventually we came across to Flinders one Christmas.

Lois’s mum and dad were getting on a bit and they said, “Would you like to come and look after the shop?”

Well, that was a bit of an eye-opener. Anyway, we went back and mulled it over for a couple of weeks and eventually made the decision. So we sold our little old house that we’d spent a lot of time restoring to its original glory. Unfortunately it’s not like that today.

And we set up shop on Flinders.

Jamie West:
So Guy, when you first visited Flinders Island, what did you notice? Did it feel like somewhere you might one day belong?

Guy Ireland:
Initially, no. No. My first trip over here, we were at Trousers Point and it was a hot, stinking day. All I did was get bitten by March flies, and I thought, God, who would live here?

Of course, not ever knowing that nowadays, I mean, I wouldn’t live anywhere else. A lot of people who live here do so for a lot of reasons, but the community here is just superb. Everyone backs each other in times of need.

It’s a wonderful community. I can’t speak highly enough of the place, and the families here are just marvellous, really.

Jamie West:
You married Lois at the beautiful Wybalenna Chapel in 1979. What do you remember about that day?

Guy Ireland:
Again, that was a hot day. Mum and Dad came across. Unfortunately we couldn’t get a lot of my friends over, and I’ve always regretted that, but accommodation was at a premium in those days.

So we had family, and Lois had a lot of family here. I don’t remember how many guests there would’ve been, but it was a lovely day. Going back there, I don’t think you can have weddings there anymore. I’m not sure. I think they stopped them. There were two weddings after us.

Lois always had her heart set on Wybalenna and it was a lovely day. Then we had a lovely reception at the sports club, and Lois and I had a couple of nights up at Palana in the old shack after that.

Then we just went back to work.

Jamie West:
Sounds like a nice day — simple, but a beautiful wedding.

Guy Ireland:
Oh yeah, it was. It was wonderful. And Lois’s mum and dad, they were great people. And Auntie Ruth — goodness me — fantastic family.

Jamie West:
Emotional, just looking back.

Guy Ireland:
Oh, it is.

Jamie West:
Yeah. Lois was managing Bowman’s General Store while you were establishing GB and LA Construction, and that must have been a busy season of life. What do you remember about those early years?

Guy Ireland:
Well, initially I didn’t intend to do a lot of work on the island, because the idea was maybe I could work in the shop. I spent one day there and thought, no, this is not me. I could not work in a shop like that.

Jamie West:
Not busy enough for you?

Guy Ireland:
No. Well, I just didn’t have any interest in the place. Lois’s mum and dad grew up with it. Lois grew up with it, so she probably had a lot of — I don’t know if she felt obligated — but she worked hard in that shop, you know, long hours, weekends, as did Lois’s mum and dad and Auntie Ruth.

You’d see them there working on a Saturday, on a Sunday. That’s what they did. To keep a business afloat, that’s what you have to do.

So I started off just by myself, doing odd jobs, nothing too major. Although our first major job was with a young bloke in those days, Malcolm Aitken. Unfortunately Malcolm died of cancer recently, which was a terribly sad time.

Anyway, our first big job was to extend the sports club and put on the dining room.

Jamie West:
Oh.

Guy Ireland:
Right — and the kitchen. Well, that was our first big project. It was a bit of an eye-opener incorporating subtrades, because luckily in those days we had Phil Warren here, the bricklayer, and Noel Matthewson was the plumber. We hand-mixed the concrete — well, in tractor mixers in those days — because there were no trucks here.

So these jobs were quite a challenge. Malcolm and I were thrown in the deep end. But after we got that job, we picked up a couple of houses. One was for Sir Rupert Clark down on the beach at Killiecrankie, and Malcolm and I worked together quite well.

Then he decided he wanted to be an engineer, so he trotted off and went back to live in Georgetown, and I plodded on by myself for a while. Then I started working with a young fella, Shane Lowery. Shane is an asset. He’s a wonderful young man.

Jamie West:
Yeah. You built your workshop soon after you arrived on Flinders Island, and my understanding is you took on apprentices like Tim Pitchford and later Tom Youl, who’s now a grazier and married to Jo at Quoin.

What has mentoring young island people meant to you?

Guy Ireland:
Well, I’ll go back another step. I had a wonderful foreman in Norm Jones. Norm said to me one day, “You might like the challenge of taking on an apprentice because you’ve got the ability to pass on your knowledge.”

It can be done two ways. Some people, as they work with others, are fairly aggressive and don’t have the patience for young people. But fortunately I do have that sort of gift, to a certain degree. I get a bit frustrated. But in saying that, Timmy was a wonderful young man, as was Tom. Shane Lowery picked it up too.

Although I wish I’d given Shane an apprenticeship, because as it’s turned out, on the island here you really don’t need an apprenticeship.

Just getting back — initially, when we first came here, we rented a house in town. Well, we didn’t actually rent the house, it was given to us to live in while we were building our house.

We came back to Flinders with $60,000 from the house we sold in Forth. That actually built the workshop and, believe it or not, had the slab down and framed up the house. You couldn’t do that today. Not for $60,000.

Jamie West:
I think $60,000’s gone before you’ve even started.

Guy Ireland:
Yes, you can spend $20,000 just before you get a peg in the ground.

Jamie West:
Yeah.

Guy Ireland:
Which is unfortunate, because I do feel for young couples starting out. It’s really hard work. Building costs are not cheap nowadays. I mean, to pay someone a wage, it’s not easy.

And the island has a lot of pluses and minuses. Land is a wee bit cheaper here than away, but your building costs pick up again through freight and transport. Not having a local hardware shop here nowadays is a bit of a drawback.

I notice a lot of people come to my workshop for little odds and ends, which I’m happy to provide. In fact, I’m getting a lot of pleasure out of stocking a bit of timber, a few nails, glue and bits and pieces. Someone says, “Oh, I’m a bit short of this. Have you got some of that lying around?” And I do.

I still buy and sell a bit of glass, which is becoming a bit of a headache because I can’t cut stuff, so I’ve got to get somebody else to cut the glass.

And I do find, being a registered builder, I don’t like the idea of registration because to me it’s a farce. The government’s only doing it to protect their back. I don’t think it’s achieved anything, quite frankly. I mean, if we have a course here nowadays, they’re only repeating what they did 10 years ago.

Jamie West:
Well, unfortunately the reality is we live in a fairly highly regulated society or community these days. There are so many updates to what you need to comply with in the building game. That’s one of the challenges certainly I see for builders, and also people wanting to build here on Flinders Island.

Guy Ireland:
And there are a lot of professions where you have to have those professional courses nowadays to get points. I can see some merit in it, but I’d rather go back to the old days where you could trust somebody and shake their hand without a contract.

Unfortunately, that’s not feasible nowadays.

Jamie West:
For the sake of our listeners who may not have visited Flinders Island — and certainly haven’t built here — what makes construction on Flinders Island uniquely challenging, do you think? Is it the cost of freight, the soil types, tricky sites, council processes, isolation, weather — any of those things?

Guy Ireland:
Well, to me, they are obstacles that you have to overcome, but that’s the same for any builder anywhere in Australia.

Freight can be an issue here because you’ve got to plan ahead. You cannot just go down to the shop and say, “I want a dozen studs.” And this is where projects can get delayed, because if something misses the boat through weather or boat issues, you put yourself a fortnight behind.

So you go and start another job and then you’ve got to get back to that one. Clients can get a bit uptight if you’re not there. I can appreciate that. But as a builder, you’ve got to keep your staff employed, so you go to another job just to keep your staff employed and keep the ball rolling, so to speak.

Jamie West:
You and Lois built your home at Trousers Point—

Guy Ireland:
Which is not finished, yeah.

Jamie West:
Mostly on weekends, at least initially. So is it true that it took nine years to attach the kitchen cupboard doors?

Guy Ireland:
Yeah, she’s spot on. Luckily I have a very patient and understanding wife, because most women probably would’ve said, “Get the doors on at least, to keep the mice out.”

So, I mean, we’ve only just finished our driveway after 25 years.

Jamie West:
It’s island time.

Guy Ireland:
That’s island time, and we can laugh at it, but it does get frustrating.

I’ve had some wonderful clients on this island over the years, and today we can go to these houses and have a cup of tea and laugh at the challenges, and the houses have all turned out very nice.

It’s nice to go back around people’s houses where the gardens are established and they’ve got orchards, they’ve had a family or whatever. It’s lovely to go back and see the house established with gardens, because when you leave a house, it’s looking very bare. Then people get their shrubs up and everything else, and it comes to life.

So the challenges are here, but living on the island, people accept them as being the norm.

It is very hard to get good people nowadays. We do lack tilers and plasterers. Fortunately we’ve got plumbers here on the island. Tiling is a wee bit of an issue, but people have a bit of a crack at it.

Roofing in general, carpentry and guttering — most builders do it themselves because they’ve been brought up on that trade and it’s a lot easier to do it themselves rather than getting subbies. Council regulations and engineers, to my way of thinking nowadays, are a bit over the top and it adds a lot of cost.

I do wonder about some of these regulations. Unfortunately some builders are probably trying to do shortcuts, and that makes it a bad apple.

Jamie West:
I think that can be said of the building industry, and of a number of industries, and that’s probably why the regulation is there — to make sure people understand what the rules are.

Guy Ireland:
Yeah, and it does protect the client. It’s nice to leave a job and say that you’re all on good terms.

Jamie West:
It would be nice though if we could turn back the clock and do it all on a handshake, and be confident the job would be done.

Guy Ireland:
Yeah. I’ve only had a couple of clients where maybe things haven’t turned out as well as we would’ve liked, and that’s in the 20-odd years that I’ve been building here. In fact, it’s 30-odd years — it’s 35 years, isn’t it?

Jamie West:
I bet there are plenty more happy customers — me for one, Guy, speaking firsthand.

Look, as a father, you were heavily involved in Pony Club. I’ve heard you were also the chief sausage turner at Pony Club. Were you a horse rider or had an interest previously, or was it all for the kids?

Guy Ireland:
No, we had a lovely lady here called Wendy Coon and she saw our kids outside the pub one day after school and she said to Lois, “I’ve got two old horses. Would the kids like to come and have a ride?”

Matthew and Claire jumped at the idea — excuse the pun. Looking back, yes, it was quite time-consuming.

Jamie West:
Because my understanding is that you were totally committed. Claire remembers you walking alongside her and Matthew while they learned to ride, and you were once named Father of the Year by Pony Club. Tell me about the Father of the Year club.

Guy Ireland:
Well, I actually got donated a nice apron to cook the barbecue with, and Kylie Clifford was always a bit critical of my sausage cooking because she’d usually end up with the burnt one. Kylie and I often laugh about that today.

We took over from a gentleman called Mr Warren — I can’t think of his first name — Phil Warren’s dad. But no, I loved the Pony Club. There was a good nucleus of people there in those days. Lois was secretary-treasurer, I think. Marge Midson, Helen Duigan — all these ladies looked after the kids beautifully. They trained them up.

Competition was fierce on show day, but looking back it was all in good fun. There was a lot of respect for each other. Peter Blyth was another one that kept the club going. It was very strong in those days. There were something like 30-odd riders. Today I think there might be maybe half a dozen.

But anyway, I just spent a lot of time with the kids. We made jumps and cavaletti, and whatever needed doing around the club manually — just ask Guy and it got done, with a couple of other people like Leigh Matthews helping a bit.

Jamie West:
So really there was a reliance not just on your commitment to support your children, but on people being aware of your building skills and making good use of those too. You were no doubt really useful in helping keep Pony Club going.

Guy Ireland:
It was a good discipline because the kids learned a lot about patience with horses, because they’re not the easiest animals.

And I had no background in horses at all. My father’s brother used to train horses. My grandfather was a bit of a rogue with horses — nothing to be proud of, unfortunately. But that was my only association with horses.

But we loved it.

Jamie West:
Yeah. And as far as your son Matthew — he developed some really good showjumping skills and was competitive.

Guy Ireland:
He did quite well in Tassie. Claire liked dressage and was very good too. One of Claire’s biggest regrets is that she hasn’t been able to put more time into it, because she was a very good rider.

Jamie West:
I bet she says she still is.

Guy Ireland:
I think she and Kylie were probably on a par, and a young lady called Josie Watson. The Klug girls were good kids in those days, under a girl called Diana Smith. All these young kids grew up and they all had average horses, but they persevered. They had a wonderful time.

And as I say, show day was full on. It was pretty competitive. If you got a ribbon, you earned it.

Jamie West:
Yeah, no doubt. I’m just so pleased to know that Pony Club still plays such a major part in people’s lives today.

You were also active in the Sports and RSL Club — bowls, golf, even cricket. What roles did those clubs play in your life here?

Guy Ireland:
Yeah, the sports club — I spent a lot of time down there. That club is very crucial to the island for a lot of people’s welfare and general recreation. If it wasn’t here, there are a lot of people who would struggle a bit for something else to do besides their farms or their work.

Again, golf is very competitive and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I put a lot of time into the club. We had lots of working bees down there with the bowls club, trying to get that underway. Tony Power, George Conway, Ted, Gerald Dilger — you can name a dozen people. We all chipped in and got that club going.

I think without the Dilgers, that club probably wouldn’t even be here.

Jamie West:
No, they’re great people, great ambassadors.

Guy Ireland:
Yeah. Robin and Gerald, and Stu, and Rachel of course. A lot of people have put in over the years, but they’ve been the backbone of it to a certain degree.

Jamie West:
But again, you’ve been involved with the Sports Club in the sporting activities. It wasn’t that long ago I was watching a fairly major renovation of the bathrooms and things like that being overseen by you.

Guy Ireland:
Yeah.

Jamie West:
You and Lois volunteered for 20 years or more for the iconic Three Peaks Race, which I hear is likely to make a comeback. The Three Peaks Race, for the benefit of listeners, is a non-stop Easter endurance event combining offshore sailing and mountain running along Tasmania’s east coast.

What was it that kept you and Lois coming back year after year to volunteer for the Three Peaks Race? And can you share a moment from those 20-plus years that captures the spirit of that incredible event?

Guy Ireland:
I think we got involved because in those days they had what they called a base camp, and Lois and Kate Mooney used to make scones and cakes for the runners and anybody else who turned up for a coffee.

We used to take gear up the top — water and camping gear for the people at the top of the mountain. I don’t quite know why we persevered, because it was a big obligation. Your whole Easter was taken up. But we did support some runners.

I’ve always loved sport, and especially endurance sport. Bike riding, to me, I just love the challenge. But I could appreciate what people put into the Three Peaks Race — the running, the mountain climbing, the yachting. That’s a test of endurance. I take my hat off to those people.

Jamie West:
Well, during the time the Three Peaks Race was running, it was obviously a big deal for Flinders Island.

Guy Ireland:
It was, and it brought a lot of people in. So it was good for tourism.

Lois was involved with the tourist association. I think she might have even been president or treasurer — again, she’s had numerous hats over the years. Where she finds the time, God knows. I remember her mum saying, “Give a busy person a job and it’ll get done.” I think that’s a good saying.

Jamie West:
You mentioned your love and passion for cycling, Guy, and before you came to Flinders Island, you were an accomplished road cyclist in New Zealand and nearly made the representative team. What drew you to cycling?

Guy Ireland:
It wasn’t quite the national team. It was a provincial team. In New Zealand they don’t have states, they have provinces. I was in the top half dozen in pursuit riding. I used to love that challenge.

In those days they had what they called a 60-kilometre time trial. There were teams of five. I probably lacked the killer instinct in sport, but I enjoyed the camaraderie in cycling.

Jamie West:
Riding with others is something I’ve enjoyed in my lifetime. You’ve ridden 250 kilometres around the bay in Victoria. You participated in Sally’s Ride in Tasmania. And you’ve travelled to Europe to ride the Tour de France circuit as part of a cycling group.

So what is it about cycling that still drives you?

Guy Ireland:
I like team sports, but there’s something about the individual challenge. I know in cycling, in the Tour de France, you have teams alright, but you’re still an individual within that team. So the challenge is still there.

I can’t probably put a finger on it, to be quite honest. I spent my younger days walking miles up Weka Pass in North Canterbury going for rabbits, and we would walk all day. That, I think, stood me in good stead to have the stamina for endurance.

I was never much one for sprint racing. In fact, I hated it. It was dangerous. But you put me on a bike for 100 miles — to me, that was just a challenge.

We used to do the Timaru to Christchurch, when in those days the grandfather clock was the first prize. Yeah, they were good days. Looking back, I took it up because it was a good sport. We had a few mates that did it, and for some reason we just did it. Again, it was the camaraderie within the group. I just took to it like a duck to water, and I loved it.

Jamie West:
Even today, people are used to seeing you riding the roads of Flinders Island. We know the bike has changed in recent years, but perhaps the purpose of you riding your bike hasn’t changed. What does cycling give you mentally and physically?

Guy Ireland:
Alright, so for those who play sport, the benefits you get through feeling so good after an event — the body likes exercise. It’s got to have it.

And mentally — oh dear. Well, I can thank Jamie and Jacqui for this bike because they had a fundraiser for us, so I’ll be forever grateful for that.

I do it today mainly because I need to have the upper-body strength to help me transfer in my wheelchair to the commode or the car. So that’s the goal today.

Prior to the accident, we used to do a lot of charity rides. Gordon Roriston and I, and Pat Simmons — we used to love the challenge of maybe raising funds for a charity. You put in a hundred dollars each and just try to help someone who’s less fortunate than us.

So if someone had a bike ride for cancer or whatever, or the local ride here — the Lions bike ride was for kids’ sight — we all jumped at it. You’d get 20 or 30 riders here in those days, and that was run by the Lions Club. To their credit, they put on a lovely day.

Jamie West:
That’s one thing that this island does well. It’s always enjoyed sport — team sport in particular, or community sport days — and more often than not they’re backed by a purpose of raising funds or raising awareness for a particular cause.

Guy Ireland:
And people are very generous with their time. I’ve done a couple of fundraisers for the Royal Flying Doctor Service, and I think the first year with Janet Toonen and John Langdon, we raised nearly $10,000. Last year I raised three by myself, and it was hard work going out in the middle of winter. You get a cold night and think, I don’t want to go out. But I’m thinking, well, someone might need a Flying Doctor. So you get on the bike.

Jamie West:
Thinking of which, you’ve now achieved frequent flyer status with the RFDS. You’ve survived two heart attacks, a serious chainsaw injury, and on a more serious note, five years ago sustained a life-changing spinal injury.

Guy, can you take us back to that day of your accident, and just go through what you can recall of that day, and the days and weeks afterwards? Because no doubt that must have been one of the most confronting and challenging times of your life.

Guy Ireland:
It was.

I was doing a job for my daughter and it was just about lunchtime. It was a nice day and I thought, oh, I’ll go down and do David’s skylights, because one of them had a little hole in it and I thought I could knock that job over in half an hour and be back on my bike in the afternoon.

Well, unfortunately I turned around in the sun and fell through the other skylight, only to end up smashing my back over a handrail down below. I only fell two and a half metres.

I lay there for half an hour unconscious, and David rang the ambulance and they came and picked me up. I woke up about half an hour later and he said, “Guy, can you move your feet?”

And I said, “No, I can’t.”

And he said, “Guy, you’re never going to walk again.”

And I said, “Yes, I am. I will.”

But unfortunately, as time goes by, I’m probably going to have to accept the fact that I’m not going to.

Anyway, I remember the trip out from David’s house because it was a bloody rough old driveway, and I could still feel the pain in my back. I sat on the plane here at the airport and Claire was there, and Lois, and I thought, God, what’s going to happen here?

I got flown off to Hobart and spent about three days there. The Hobart lot operated on my back, fused it all together, and I got flown off to the Prince Alfred in Melbourne, where I had about a month there trying to rehabilitate.

Then I got taken to the Royal Talbot and I had, I’m not quite sure how long there — maybe six months, maybe not quite that long. After a lot of physio, I was able to do a lot of transfers, and they were very good there with physio. The nurses and the doctors there were just superb. Without them, there’d be a lot of us people in this predicament not where we are today.

Then of course we came back via COVID. We had two weeks in quarantine at the LGH, which was a bit of a pain in the butt. But anyway.

Jamie West:
As if the back injury wasn’t enough.

Guy Ireland:
Well, yeah, but there are a lot of people going through a lot more issues than me. Anyway, eventually I got back to Flinders and I cried the whole way.

Jamie West:
It was a disaster. Yeah, I bet. As I said, it must have been so confronting. Since that accident though, many people describe you as the embodiment of resilience and determination. Where does your strength come from?

Guy Ireland:
I think we all have it. Some people rise above it more than others and can probably cope better.

I know a couple of people in Melbourne, and I feared for them because they just weren’t coping. Most of us accepted the challenge. Yeah, I might have a bit of resilience, but on this island here I’ve had some wonderful support.

Speaking to young Shannon Barrett — he’s also had his accident, and that’ll be 20 years ago — he’s another one with wonderful support from Amanda.

Jamie West:
And he’s been support for you too.

Guy Ireland:
Yeah.

Jamie West:
In some ways his circumstances must have inspired you to know that you can get on with things despite the challenges of your injury.

Guy Ireland:
It has been a major setback. And not only does it affect me — Lois, her life has just changed. She’s got to get me out of bed in the morning. I can shower and bathe myself, do the toileting and all that, but she’s behind the scenes giving me a leg up, so to speak.

Jamie West:
Guy, you could’ve been forgiven for walking away from the building game altogether after your spinal injury. But no, you didn’t choose to do that. Instead, you were determined to demonstrate that despite the challenges of now having to live in a wheelchair, you could continue to project manage building projects.

So what motivated you to stay involved?

Guy Ireland:
Well, when I was at the Royal in Melbourne, people kept asking me what I was going to do after I got back. There were a few things thrown around, like maybe I could learn a musical instrument. I’d still love to maybe play a guitar. Who knows?

But there’s something about the building game that I get a lot of satisfaction out of. It’s a wonderful trade or profession.

When I came back, I helped a young fellow out — Jordy Willis was halfway through his apprenticeship, so we helped him complete that time. There have been a couple of other young kids here who I’ve tried to help a bit. Some successful, some not so successful.

Life’s not easy, and sometimes young people have a bit of a struggle. So if you can give them a bit of a leg up through finishing an apprenticeship or just a job — teaching them a skill — to see them develop and pick up these little tricks of the trade and go on and do their own thing is really wonderful to see.

No doubt there are people who teach other arts and other skills, and they all get that buzz out of seeing a young kid take up the cudgel, so to speak, and keep the trade going or the profession going.

It’s like teaching someone to play golf or cricket. There’s something about coaching. There’s a lot to be gained out of giving. Some people are good at it. Some people don’t like to pass on the skill — they don’t have the ability to do that. Fortunately, I do have a little bit of that.

Jamie West:
You sure do, Guy. And the thing that I admire most about you is you didn’t give up on your building trade, you didn’t give up on yourself, and you didn’t give up on the young people of Flinders Island. The fact that you had this injury and kept on going teaches the whole community a lesson about resilience.

You gave up your building registration in January this year. That must have been a bit hard in some ways. So how did that decision sit with you?

Guy Ireland:
I was a bit reluctant because I would’ve liked to have kept it going, but I am 76 now, so you do have to say, well, there’s a point in life where you’ve just got to say, you know, that’s enough.

Jamie West:
Doesn’t mean that you’ll stop mentoring young people on the island, or still helping people through your workshop or what have you.

Guy Ireland:
In fact, it is something of a relief, because I don’t have to go through the ordeal of it all. It’s expensive. By the time you cover yourself with insurances and public liability, you’re $5,000 out. To me, it wasn’t justified any longer.

So at the time, Lois and I talked about it. In fact, she was the one that said, “I’ve had enough organising this — give it away.”

So I had to do it. I feel better for it.

Jamie West:
Guy, not long after you arrived on Flinders, there were rumours about the Bowman family and asset disputes, and someone asked you what you got out of it all. Can you recall what your response was?

Guy Ireland:
I think I said, “I got Lois.”

Jamie West:
That’s exactly what you said.

Guy Ireland:
I got Lois.

Jamie West:
You’ve got Lois. So what has Lois meant to your journey?

Guy Ireland:
Well, excuse the pun, but she’s the backbone. She’s a woman of integrity, courage, been a great partner, been a great mother. I don’t know what life would be without her. I can’t speak highly enough of her.

Jamie West:
She’s an extraordinary woman, right? There’s no doubt about that.

Guy Ireland:
Yeah.

Jamie West:
Yeah. When you think about your life — from New Zealand cyclist to island builder, father, grandfather and mentor — what are you most proud of?

Guy Ireland:
Oh, that’s a tough call. I think raising your family. We’ve ended up with two wonderful kids, four beautiful grandkids. So I can’t think of anything more in life than being able to say that I’ve helped bring these people into the world, and they’ll have their challenges. Of course they will. Life’s a bit like that.

But no, that would be it. I think Lois and I would have to say our families are everything to us. We’ve accomplished quite a lot of other little things in life, but family means everything to anybody, I think.

For those fortunate enough to have children and grandchildren, I think we can all speak highly of that. I know people are high achievers in business and good luck to them, but I think family’s the crucial thing.

Jamie West:
Having lived a good chunk of your life on Flinders Island, what does Flinders Island mean to you?

Guy Ireland:
Oh, well goodness me, I wouldn’t live anywhere else. We’ve travelled a bit around the world. It’s nice to see these places. I can certainly appreciate the history and the architecture as a builder. You look at buildings around the place and think, wow, it’s been there for 5,000 years, these buildings, and mine’s only been there 50 years. I’ve got a long way to go.

Jamie West:
I’m sure they’ll be here for another 50. Another 150.

Guy Ireland:
Well, we’d like to think the houses I’ve built stay up that long. But Flinders — oh look, it’s the community. It’s a great place. I just love it here.

Scenic-wise, we’ve had some challenges here, but God, there are not many places like Flinders. I’ve brought friends here and they say, “Would you like to live in Sydney, Guy?” Well, I’m sorry, but no.

Jamie West:
We’re very fortunate.

Guy Ireland:
Oh, Jamie, we can walk down the street and leave our car open. No one’s going to bother us. We just feel so safe here. We feel relaxed here. I know the island’s got issues with weather, shipping or airlines, but they’re a pimple on an elephant’s bum compared to other problems around the world.

Jamie West:
Guy, your story reminds us how often life turns on the smallest of moments — a lift offered to strangers on a New Zealand roadside, a visit to a remote island, a wedding at a little chapel at Wybalenna.

From building workshops and homes, to mentoring apprentices, to turning sausages at Pony Club, to riding the winding roads of Flinders Island, you’ve quietly helped shape this community in more ways than bricks and timber can measure.

You’ve faced heart attacks, injury, and a life-changing spinal accident with a resilience that continues to inspire so many of us. And even after stepping back from your builder’s registration this year, you’re still finding ways to contribute, to guide, and to problem-solve.

Your story is one of craftsmanship, community, love and grit. And perhaps when asked what you gained from coming to Flinders Island, your answer says it best: Lois.

Guy Ireland:
Yeah. And a good sense of humour. You’ve got to have a good sense of humour on this island.

Jamie West:
You do.

Guy Ireland:
And there are some wonderful people with a ton of humour, I can tell you that.

Jamie West:
That’s right. When all else fails, laugh.

Guy Ireland:
Yeah.

Jamie West:
My grandmother told me, whatever you do in life, don’t ever lose your sense of humour.

Guy Ireland:
Exactly.

Jamie West:
Thank you, Guy, for sharing your story and for the foundations you’ve laid here, both seen and unseen.

Guy Ireland:
It’s been a pleasure. Thank you, Jamie.