There’s not too many couples that can claim membership of the same club in Mount Isa, but that’s what Gottfried and Trinidad Kreutz can say about Mount Isa Lapidary Club.
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The club was formed on August 19, 1966, Gottfried joining in 1967 and Trinidad a year later.
Mr Kreutz said lapidary was the art and craft of cutting and polishing of stones.
“Club members collect minerals and stones out bush and then cut and polish them,” Mr Kreutz said. “Some of the better stones will then be set into silver jewellery.”
The Clubhouse at 4 Isaacson Road has a workshop with machinery to cut and polish the stones with a meeting room for silver smithing.
Mr Kreutz maintains the clubhouse and machinery and helps people out when he opens the workshop on Tuesday evenings for cutting and polishing and Thursday evenings for silver smithing while Mrs Kreutz makes silver jewellery on Thursday evenings for her family.
Mr Kreutz said in the first years, meetings and workshops were held in a converted mine house close to Hilton Hall on the mine side.
“That house became unavailable in 1969 because of the Mine expanding and the Club moved into a garden shed of president Don Parkinson on Kokoda Rd,” he said. “Plans for a Clubhouse were drawn up by John Bobbermine. A block of land was leased from Council in on an island off Alma St.”
The Clubhouse was officially opened by patron Gordon Mills and councillors Frank Born and Lillian Noaks on August 6, 1973.
“The grinding of semiprecious stones created too much dust to facet gemstones and creating silver jewellery,” Mr Kreutz said.
“I made the drawings for the extension in 1978. It took two year to get the permits and save enough money. In 1980 the Club built the extension to floor level.”
It took four years to raise the money to continue building and in 1984 the walls were raised to roof level. Club members were more interested to work on their hobby than to raise funds and continue building.
Mr Kreutz said they held classes and workshops but it was always hard to keep a clean workplace and the extension deteriorated.
In 2011 they applied for a new building permit and grant to finish the extension and Gottfried got it to lock-up stage December 2013.
Tony McGrady, Mayor of Mount Isa and club patron, officially opened the extension June 14, 2015.
Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
