Vale William James Bayliss

14/10/1998 to 10/11/2024

We are devastated by the sudden loss of our beloved colleague William Bayliss in a motor vehicle accident on the morning of Sunday, 10^th November.

William was the greatest Australian woodworker of his generation. He was a skilled craftsman and a multi-award-winning designer. William’s dedication to woodwork was the stuff of legends.

William started as an apprentice with us on the 7^th July, 2015. He left school at 16 to pursue his dream of becoming a world class craftsman. He achieved that. Next year would have been his tenth year with us.

William was highly respected throughout the national and international woodworking community. He taught at the Centre for Fine Woodworking in Nelson, New Zealand and was mentored by the Canadian Master Craftsman Michael. C. Fortune.

“Evan, Will is magnificent! He is more than capable, great to work with and most important, at that age, passionate about furniture making. It’s truly an honour to work with him, I can’t thank you enough for the investment you have made in Will. He’s amazing now and will undoubtedly go on to great heights.”– Michael Fortune, 2020

On hearing of William’s death, master American designer/maker Adam Rogers wrote:

“William was bright. He was a talented artist and a stellar craftsman. But to those who knew him well, or had only been around him a few times like I had, it was clear how deeply he cared about what he did, and how he lived. It is little wonder why those, for him, were inseparable. William will be missed by many, and the loss of the impact he was only beginning to have in the field is immense”. Adam Rogers 11/11/2024 

Internationally renowned New Zealand master craftsman David Haig wrote

“William was a bright shining star already, one of the rarest of the rare, who understood  the myriad technicalities of his craft like the very best world makers twice and three times his age. Watching him at work at the two Residencies he attended with Michael Fortune at the Centre for Fine Woodworking, he was already so fluent in his creative ability that it was impossible to put limits on what he might have achieved. He was like a young Mozart in his field with a joyful mastery of creative possibilities, but all carried off with an air of quiet calm and focus. In fact, a more down to earth and unpretentious brilliance it would be hard to imagine. I am personally and professionally devastated to hear of his untimely passing, and send my deepest condolences to his family, his partner and all his friends and colleagues alike. For you Evan, the loss must be incalculable, and you have my heartfelt sympathies. The ripples from this will spread far and wide.  With sincere condolences, David Haig.”

William’s list of awards and achievements is extensive. William won “Open Champion” with his Aquarium Cabinet at the 2017 “Treasures in Timber” competition run by the Woodcraft Guild of the ACT. He was runner up in the 2017 FIAA Apprentice of the Year awards and was Silver medalist in the 2017 ACT/NSW World Skills competition.

William was awarded the John Tiddy Memorial Prize in 2018 for the ACT/NSW region, as well as the FIAA Apprentice of the Year 2018.

In May 2019, William won Open Champion at the $10,000 Wootha Prize for his Torrent Audio Cabinet in figured blackwood. At 20, William was by far the youngest maker to ever win the Wootha. The Wootha Prize is the richest annual woodworking prize in Australia and is part of the Maleny Wood Expo. The Wootha is judged on a combination of fine craftsmanship and original design. This exceptional achievement propelled William to the attention of the Australian woodworking community.

William was awarded a $5000 Fellowship to study for 6 weeks in January/February 2020 under Canadian Master Michael. C. Fortune at the Centre for Fine Woodworking in Nelson, New Zealand. During this period, William made his extraordinary Cable Bay Cabinet.

In 2021, William took out Overall Winner as well as Winner in the category Tables, Chairs and Desks in Australian Wood Review’s Maker of the Year Awards with his Bunyjul Occasional Tables.

In 2023, took out Art and Objects in Australian Wood Review’s Maker of the Year Awards with his Wilcannia Cabinet.

William was a teaching assistant to Michael.C.Fortune in January/February 2024 at the Centre for Fine Woodworking. He made his second iteration of his Bunyjul series at that time.

William’s Mundi Mundi entrance table (an extension of the Bunyjul concept) won the Furniture category of the 2024 Wootha Prize.

William specialised in carcass pieces at Dunstone Design. He also taught during the regular Dunstone Design Masterclasses.

William was a person of few words, and he let his hands do most of the talking. He never sought the limelight, but the limelight had a way of finding him. William had a passion for the natural world and especially loved reptiles. His first major winning piece, Bunyjul, referenced the Northern Frilled necked lizards that used to run across the playground at his school in Darwin.

Alex, Aditi and I will miss William more than we can express. He was far more than a member of staff. He was far more than a master craftsman.

We are in disarray. If you have work on order with us, please be patient.

William is survived by his partner Stella, his parents Kim and Tim, and his sister Olivia.

 

I ply with all the cunning of my art
This little thing, and with consummate care
I fashion it—so that when I depart,
Those who come after me shall find it fair
And beautiful. It must be free of flaws—
Pointing no laborings of weary hands;
And there must be no flouting of the laws
Of beauty—as the artist understands.
 
Through passion, yearnings infinite—yet dumb—
I lift you from the depths of my own mind
And gild you with my soul’s white heat to plumb
The souls of future men. I leave behind
This thing that in return this solace gives:
“He who creates true beauty ever lives.”

Marcus B. Christian, “The Craftsman” 1970