| Description Summary | Jim Lavas talks about his work with stone from a young age, the workers at Dick Lavas' Mt Wellington Quarry, memories of the Winstone roading business, learning from the old stonemasons and building walls around Auckland. He explains his ability to recognise the signature wall construction of individual stonemasons and recalls learning the life and culture of Dalmatians from workers. He talks about teaching stonework, his stonemason son, the lack of trained stonemasons in NZ, lists famous and successful Dalmations he knew, the hardship of working in the quarries and the kindness of shop owners.
He answers questions on the construction of the Tamaki Drive walls, Ngapipi Road bridges, Mountain Road wall, Ellerslie motorway off ramp walls, Cornwall Park walls, his grandfather, spliting schist boulders, blacksmithing skills, current stone sources, accidental deaths, the Lavas family, the quality of stone curbs vs concrete curbs. |
