Ian Wills was born in Quairading in 1944 and died on the 7th September 1980.

During his life, in spite of being dogged by ill health, he played an active part in the community.

In 1967 – 1968 he was Vice-President of the Quairading Junior Farmers and State Delegate to the Junior Farmers Federation. In 1968 – 1969 he was President of the Avon Valley Farmers Council. From 1965 to 1970 he served as Chief Wool Steward for the Quairading Agricultural Society.

Beyond his farming interest he was President of the Creative Arts Society and Vice President of the Quairading Tourist Promotion Centre.

It was while working on the family farm that Ian became fascinated by the shapes of the roots of trees and their grain and colours.  In 1969 he first started to experiment with the development of natural wood sculpture and became what is believed to be the only full time natural wood sculptor in Australia.

As his work developed, his studio and workshop, 22 kilometres north of Quairading, became a centre for the study of the art and an important loal tourist attraction.  His work was demonstrated and exhibited at the Sydney “Go 75 Train and Holiday Affair” and in the WA Tourist Promotion Exhibition in Adelaide in 1976.

Ian’s best know work, called ‘PEACE” was exhibited in Allendale Square for the States 150th Anniversary Celebrations, and in recognition of his work in promoting Quairading as the “Home of Natural Wood Sculpture’ he was named as their Citizen of the Century in the field of Art and Culture.  His death at such an early age has deprived Quairading of an original and dedicated artist.

At his funeral in Quairading, Mr Gordon McRae spoke a moving tribute to his memory:-

“Ian Wills began life facing problems. As a youngster he wasn’t able to participate and compete in life as others around him did.  He had to fight with life to make the best of what he had, to learn to be content with watching rather that competing.  But those early years must have prepared him for later life and helped him to live each day as it came, a full day, glad at having been spared by God to enjoy it.

He began his new experience in life about 1968 and as he began to learn and perfect his artistry he was stricken with a serious illness.

When most of us would have given up in the face of this adversity, Ian, full of fighting qualities, created some of his most famous and precious creations.

He saw wood and sculptured it,
He saw art and developed it,
He saw beauty and cultivated it,
He was a perfectionist in his art,
We saw a young man, a son, a brother,
An artist and friend,
And we have all loved and admired what we have seen.

His greatest joy came not in being great, but by making friends through his artistry, by sharing his love and dedication with those who cared to share with him.

We are all very much aware of his fame both here and world wide.  Many of us will cherish our memories of Ian in one way or another, but his creativity and artistry will remain a living memory to us all.”