A CENTURY OF
craftsmanship By Cameron McCullough Photos Gary Sissons & Supplied
t is set to be a huge year for Sorrento Furniture. They have made the move to a bigger and better showroom and are celebrating a century in the furniture-making game.
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And while Robert Walsh died in 1959, fourteen years later a young 15-year-old started his upholstery apprenticeship, stretching the furniture manufacturing to a third generation.
"My grandfather’s name was Robert Hamil Walsh,” said Sorrento Furniture’s Gerard Walsh.
“I struggled at school. It just wasn’t for me. I was dyslexic and back then the answer was to punish you. As a result, I just didn’t fit in,” said Gerard.
“He had returned from the First World War and had managed to save enough money to open a furniture business in Ballarat in 1921.” Robert Walsh specialised in chairs in those days; not far removed from a century later with Sorrento Furniture specialising in customer sofas and chairs. “Eventually, my father started work for him and learned the trade, although after returning from the Second World War, he went out of the furniture game,” said Gerard.
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16 | PENINSULA
“But a strange thing happened when I went to trade school. I excelled at it, and as a result, the opposite happened. I absolutely fitted in and thrived”. The lesson was not lost on Gerard, who to this day talks of his dyslexia, and overcoming adversity on the path to success. “My dad was a kind and gracious man,” said Gerard. “He was very encouraging and proud that I was following in the family footsteps.” continued next page...
March 2021