by Greg Martin

Woodworking wizard Darren Oates poses beside several of his stunning creations – and it’ s easy to see why he is regarded as one of the Hawkesbury’ s finest craftspeople.

The incredible artisan has been featured in these pages before as a Hawkesbury’ s Finest subject, thanks to his extraordinary skills as a furniture maker. Darren’ s deft hands, keen eye and creative mind have produced beautifully constructed cabinets, wall art and, in particular, superbly crafted tables that have been snapped up across Australia and around the world.

That earlier yarn focused on Darren’ s remarkable ability to conjure up writing desks, coffee tables, games tables and side tables. But over the past couple of years, Darren has refined his focus, narrowing his furniture output to slimmer side and hall tables, while devoting most of his time to creating absolutely fantastic sculptures that are proving just as popular.

The shift towards sculpture came in early 2023 after Darren sought advice from a counsellor following several stress attacks.

“ I did my research on stress attacks and realised I was experiencing all the symptoms – racing heart, shortness of breath, sweating, chest pain and nausea,” Darren explained.“ So I decided it was time to seek expert advice.”

After several sessions, Darren and his counsellor identified a simple but

important issue.

“ We worked out that I needed a social life,” he said.“ My workshop is alongside our home in Grose Vale and I work alone, so it became obvious I needed to get out and mingle with people.”

That realisation led Darren to the Wilberforce Woodworkers Co-Op – a move that has proven life-changing.

“ The club has about 70 members, aged from 16 right through to 94-yearold marvel Murial Picton,” Darren said.“ They come from all walks of life, but we all share a passion for working with wood. They’ re my type of people and we get on famously.”

Every Saturday, Darren heads to Wilberforce to socialise and work alongside talented craftspeople such as the inspirational David Stanley, who specialises in pyrography and spoon carving.

“ The members are just so nice to be around – there’ s no bickering, just a group of like-minded folk who have played a major part in helping me overcome those stress attacks,” he said.

Darren’ s fellow members are equally delighted to have him on board – especially when he runs box-making classes. And what boxes they are. The accompanying photograph shows a stunning box crafted from camphor laurel, a timber sourced from a tree considered a noxious weed in Queensland and northern NSW.

“ I find it one of the best woods to

work with,” Darren said.“ It produces an amazing array of colours, and I’ m glad to say customers agree.”

Such is Darren’ s reputation that there is always a steady stream of visitors to the Leura Fine Woodwork Gallery to view his tables and sculptures.

“ Buyers can also purchase online at

darrencoatesfinefurniture. net,” Darren added.“ And visitors to the site can even access free 20 to 35-minute woodworking lessons.”

These days, life is smelling pretty good for Darren – a blend of camphor laurel, Huon pine and a whole lot of happiness.

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