Hewn from local stone, the unmistakable gateways, stately walls, rustic homes, and timeless churches built by local stonemason John Glover are as much a part of our Northern Valleys landscape as our flowering gums and rolling hills. His work dots driveways and graces properties from Chittering through to Dandaragan.
John is one of the fortunate few who can do a drive-by of his life’s work, his legacy literally embedded in our community — and quite rightly it gives him a lasting sense of pride.
“I get a buzz every time!” John says, meticulously describing each job by year, anecdote and most importantly — the number of weeks, months, or years it took for him to build by hand.
“Well, it’s nice to have, you know, not many people can look back at their work and see it still standing. The beauty of stonework is that it’s tangible. If you look at a house, the wood, the tin…everything just rots and falls away. This stonework, it’s there a hundred years later,” he says.
John’s work in the region is prolific and spans from 1991 when he moved to Gingin from Perth chasing work. Already an established stonemason, his skills landed him a stonework job at the Gingin Cemetery and he has lived in town ever since, making his mark on every corner. The Gingin Amphitheatre, Centennial Wall, Pioneer Park, the gabled walls around historic Dewar house — and what seems like every second garden wall and cottage gateway on the streets are all his handiwork.
“I’m just nuts about stone, you couldn’t find another bloke who could be more obsessed than me about stone,” he says.
Call it divine intervention or a stroke of luck, meeting Father Paul Fox in 2002 cemented John’s success, paving the pathway to his finest works.
“Paul approached me 22 years ago and asked me to build this grotto (St Catherine’s in Gingin). He must have just loved it because the next second, we’re over there doing St Anne’s church in Bindoon, which went on and on and on — for about two and half years or so. Then he said, ‘We’re doing a bigger church down in Maryville!’” John recalls.
Bordering on a cathedral in size, the Divine Mercy Shrine in Maryville Downs is nothing less than impressive — whatever religion you subscribe to — and cuts an almost medieval silhouette rising from the bushland suburb. Designed by Peter Anthes, the domed Romanesque-style church was brought to life by Father Fox, who drew on many local craftspeople to build it, including John and his stepson Michael Levy.
It would take John and Michael the best part of five years and 1500 tonne of granite from farms around Mooliabeenee and Wannamal to complete the cladding of all the walls — each rock gathered by parishioners and then skilfully mortared in place by the duo. With scaffolding required to reach the celestial heights, the sheer physical work done to lift so much stone is simply awe-inspiring.
The result is surely divine, even, as the anonymous architect of Glastonbury Abbey in England once wrote, “A church so beautiful that it will inspire even the hardest heart to pray.”
“Beauty leads to contemplation,” says Father Fox, explaining his personal mission for the Divine Mercy Shrine to inspire his congregation.
“As people round the corner into Santa Gertrudis Drive, off Muchea East Road, many are struck by the beauty of this building. There seems to be a constant number of visitors taking photos and they marvel at the beautiful stonework. John has indeed left a great legacy of his fine workmanship, for which all are very grateful.”
Now in his seventies, John has retired, satisfied in the knowledge that his work will well outlast his lifetime.
The words of John Ruskin, The Seven Lamps of Architecture describe it best, “The stonemason builds more than walls; he builds the enduring spirit of a place, embedding his craft within the heart of the earth.”
You can see much of John Glovers stonework in and around the townsites of Gingin and Bindoon, or if you are joining Catholic mass this Christmas with Father Fox.
