Carved legacy in Oamaru stone
Stone Mason
THE ‘‘Man of Stone’’ William John (Bill) Dooley will forever be linked with Oamaru stone.
The whitestone, or New Zealand limestone, that embodies so much southern heritage was perpetually dusted across his work overalls.
Stone masonry was in his blood: Mr Dooley was a fifthgeneration stonemason of Irish stock.
His own career spanned more than six decades.
With his sons John and Kerry Dooley, he helped to restore and preserve the collection of Victorian whitestone buildings that have contributed so substantially to Oamaru’s resurgence.
In 2011, Mr Dooley was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to restoration of historic buildings.
He was born in Oamaru on August 18, 1931, to Jack and Molly Dooley.
He died peacefully on December 2, last year, aged 92, in the town of his birth.
Mr Dooley was remembered by his sons as a kind and generous man. He was a family man, a businessman and an innovator. He was also a sportsman, a lover of horses and cars.
He knew the real value of a car, Kerry said.
He would spend his Sundays in the garage polishing, or washing them, or vacuuming them out — especially, Kerry said, if it was an old one he had recently bought.
Typically, he would spend two weeks with a car and then it would be sold on, Kerry said.
‘‘Rattles used to really annoy him and he’d fix all them up and then he’d flick them on.
‘‘He’d come home at lunchtime and to test him out, Mum [Mr Dooley’s first wife, Myola] would pick up the Otago Daily Times, and in those days you had two pages of car sales in the back page, and she would read out a car — ‘a 1975 Ford Falcon . . .’
‘‘In those days it always had the kilometres on them, ‘. . . 65,000 miles [105,000km], how much, Bill?’
‘‘And Bill would say ‘$5200’ and he would be bang on the nail.
‘‘If it wasn’t on the nail — if it was less — he’d say, ‘That’s a bargain’.’’
‘‘He had more cars than birthdays,’’ his son, John, said.
He had a 1951 MG and a Chrysler Charger.
‘‘Bill’s love was cars. He always liked a fast car,’’ John said.
‘‘He was mad on cars. He enjoyed cars,’’ he said.
Mr Dooley enjoyed caravaning and holidays at Alexandra.
He loved his family, especially his grandchildren.
But he worked long hours and he was very meticulous in his work.
‘‘And of course in those days, you did your job on a handshake.
‘‘In those days your word was everything — your business day was based on your word,’’ John said.
‘‘Stone was his life.’’ Mr Dooley built his business with his sons.
Today, Dooley's Masonry is recognised as one of New Zealand's foremost authorities on the use and restoration of Oamaru stone.
The town of Oamaru went through tough economic times in the 1980s: there was drought and the economy crashed.
John recalled one Christmas when five houses cancelled jobs.
‘‘Work was very, very quiet,’’ he said.
Builders and tradies around town were ‘‘shut down, virtually’’.
At that stage, the Dooleys retreated to a workshop in
Ouse St.
There, led by Mr Dooley, they developed machinery to do jobs that were traditionally done by hand.
With the technology Mr Dooley developed, the family firm was soon able to carve parapets, intricate stone pillars, fireplaces and other ornate decoration with the advantage of speed.
‘‘That got us the edge on things and we just went from there,’’ John said.
The first big contract the Dooleys won was to restore Dunedin Town Hall.
Many other major projects followed: the administration block at Christ's College in Christchurch, the restoration of the Dunedin Railway Station, Waitaki Boys' High School Hall of Memories, Otago Boys' and Girls' High Schools, Clark's flour mill, near
Maheno, and Knox College, in Dunedin.
‘‘To the best of my knowledge, they have done all the restoration in the HarbourTyne St historic precinct,’’ former Oamaru Whitestone Civic Trust project manager Neil Plunket said.
‘‘Dooleys Masonry were pivotal in the restoration.’’
Although he had largely handed the reins over to his sons at that point, it was evident ‘‘Bill was the driving force’’.
Mr Dooley attended St Kevin’s College as a boy.
Myola Mary Gibson married him in 1954.
Together they had three children: first, their daughter Barbara and then the two boys.
After Myola’s death he married Val Pasco, in 2008.
He was survived by his many grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.