Two months after the tragic deaths of Daylesford Timber Benders owners Don O’Connor and Sue Ewart O’Connor, their son Tim is fighting to keep the business alive. Sources: The Courier, The Border Mail
The couple were killed on November 9 in a car accident after trying to avoid a kangaroo on Daylesford-Malmsbury Road near Denver.
The nationally-renowned business which uses 1850s machinery remains the only timber benders in Australia and has supplied wood for companies and venues ranging from Virgin Airlines to Etihad Stadium.
Following the crash Mr O’Connor has launched a Go Fund Me campaign in an effort to raise enough funds to keep the unique business alive.
Mr O’Connor said while his father was able to run the business as an owner-operator, the factory required a number of upgrades to be able to support employees in the future.
He said the Hepburn Shire Council required upgrades be made to the facility before works can resume.
“We started the fund page up because after the funeral service there was a lot of people saying they wanted to help,” Mr O’Connor said.
“We can’t take on the burden entirely ourselves.
“We’re working on getting it up to (occupational health and safety) standard so we can have an employee, because a lot of the items are so heavy that one person cannot handle them alone.”
The 39-year-old former exploration driller said he also hoped to expand the business into furniture production, which would allow the Timber Benders to produce a completed product as well as wood for larger projects.
In recent years the business had branched out into large-scale architectural projects.
Mr O’Connor said he hoped adding a new dimension to the business would ensure its sustainability in the future and attract interest from people wishing to learn the trade.
“Anyone with the skills to do this kind of stuff is up around the 80-year-old mark because it’s never been handed down and it’s just dwindled away, but there’s a big market for it,” Mr O’Connor said.
“I can bend wood and tapping into this furniture makers skill set means we can make bent wood stuff, because a lot of people want one-off pieces no one’s seen before.”
