D Williams Builders

David Williams, a Welsh carpenter who loved fine wood, emigrated to Tasmania in 1852 after seeing a piece of bird's eye Huon pine on the docks at Swansea. After working for a builder in North Hobart, he set up a carpentry shop and timber yard in Battery Point. In 1878, his son David moved the family home and business to Argyle Street, where it is still situated. His work included the Magdalen Home, an extension to Bishopscourt, and the Moonah Baptist Church. Sons became familiar with the business by playing around the joinery, later becoming apprentices and, in five cases, managers. While D Williams remains a family business, its speciality is contracting. The now unprofitable joinery was leased in 1988, and timber sales were abandoned in 2000 after the introduction of the GST.

Further reading: C Evans, 'Everything prompt', Hobart, 2005.

Caroline Evans