Last Friday evening we gathered in the boat shed to remember our colleague and friend Greg Guy, who died just one year ago. John Young, founder with his wife, Ruth, of the Wooden Boat Centre gave the following address.
" About a year ago we all knew that |Greg was about to die, so we decided to have a wake with him, while he was still with us. I was asked to help us remember what a "man for all seasons" he was, with his integrity, his sense of purpose, his energy and leadership, from which his country, his state, and his region, the Huon Valley, and his own final community in Franklin had received enormous benefits.
His response, in the shadow of his own death, was an extraordinary demonstration of cool courage and thinking. He thanked us all for the opportunities which arise, in small communities for "making a difference".
First as a distinguished Marine artist, then as Chairman of the Huon Arts group, and the Lovett Gallery in Cygnet, then as the Tasmanian representative on the committee of the Australian Society of Marine Artists. He was also an eminent artist himself.
After moving to Franklin from Deep Bay for domestic reasons,and thanks Lyn, for bringing him here, he took on the difficult job of chairing the Franklin Working Waterfront Association, and keeping the boat school in the hands of the Franklin community.
As a casual member of staff Greg ran courses on a range of disciplines from tying knots to general nautical knowledge, boat building, and coastal navigation. For years he used his teaching abilities and his historical understanding to act as an inspirational tour guide.
He was an important part of the foundation process of the Working Waterfront Association. He put a lot of energy into devising its constitution and defing its purposes.They include:the revival of a unique, two year, Associate degree in traditional wooden boat building,providing public nautical education.
He designed a small slipway for a vital course on repair and maintenance of small displacement vessels and also to provide local employment and gain income for the school.
He concluded his speech by reminding us of our constitutional commitment to build a Merchant Schooner.
Greg told me, shortly before he died, that when he recovered from cancer, he would again stand for election to the Franklin Working Waterfront committee.
We cannot replace him. But we can be informed by his vision for the future, of Franklin and Tasmania, for which we are all collectively responsible."
John Young 17 August 2018.
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