STONE MASON PROFILE
Master Mason Peter Dare

Peter was born in the United Kingdom. He is currently the Master Mason working on the completion of what will most likely be the last Gothic-style cathedral to be completed in the world - St John's Cathedral Brisbane Australia.

Peter has more than 45 years experience as a Mason, having completed his apprenticeship as a Banker Mason in the Roman Mines in Devon. His basic modern construction skills were gained in Swansea and then restoration at Oxford, which lead later into conservation. These skills were gained in the days when Masons who worked away from their homes, worked in excess of 80 hours per week.

Peter has worked on many conservation and preservation projects in the United Kingdom particularly through contracts for English Heritage, the Landmark Trust, Exeter City and Devon County Council and Churches.

He worked in close consultation with architects and carried out research into materials and uses, including the use of correct tools and methods on existing works. A lot of this work involved the re-opening of quarries to supply the correct stone.

The majority of his time is now spent in Brisbane, where his role as Master Mason on the completion of St John's Cathedral entails all aspects of supervising the construction work and team and includes the time consuming task of extracting the beautiful stone from the quarry which is located at Helidon at the base of the Toowoomba Range and around an hour's drive west of Brisbane.

He continues to carry out the majority of intricate carving on the cathedral and can often be seen using stonemasonry skills that date back hundreds of years, as well as the computer operated system used at St John's.