General News
16 September, 2025
Wilf's still building at 92
Ninety-two-year-old Wilf Webster, a Hopetoun resident and woodwork coordinator at the Men’s Shed, recently completed building a decorative wooden windmill.
Learning the design online, Wilf demonstrates that creativity knows no age limit.
“I just saw a picture of it and I thought 'I can make that',” he said.
“I just got a few hints off the internet, as it doesn’t tell you any measurements or anything, and you just have to work that out yourself, so that’s what I did.”
The windmill took him about three weeks to finish, although he never worked on it full-time.
“I don’t get up and work on it all day, I’ve got other things to do,” he said.
“I put the body together in one day and then added little window frames around it.”
For Mr Webster, the windmill is not about utility but about pride and passion.
“It’s just decoration in the yard,” he said.
“I just see things and I think, well, I can make that and that’s what I do.”
Mr Webster, who has been part of the Hopetoun Men’s Shed since its official opening in 2013, said he is always looking for his next challenge.
“I’ve got a thing in my mind to make a lighthouse,” he said.
“I’ve just seen pictures of it on my phone, and will start making it when I get some timber.”
Mr Webster said that the timber costs have risen sharply.
“The biggest problem is now timber has gone up by 12 per cent in the last 12 months, approximately,” he said.
“I usually get the timber from Warracknabeal.
"I just ring up Home Hardware, tell them what I need, and they cut it all up for me.”
Despite his age, Mr Webster has no plans of slowing down.
“I’ve never been one to think, ‘Oh, you’re too old to do that.’ If I feel like doing something, I will go and do it,” he said.
Before the windmill, Mr Webster also made nine grandfather clocks for the family members.
Looking ahead to the Men’s Shed Christmas market, Mr Webster said members are preparing to make toys and decorations.
He also hopes his windmill might inspire others in the town.
“Just keep surviving, keep involved in things,” he said to the others in the community.
“Because when people see you can make it, they’ll want to have a go too.”