Skipper’s Saddle icon gets ‘his character back’

An icon of Skippers history’s been given a new lease of life.

The signage depicting pioneer Julien Bourdeau, on Skippers Saddle at the entrance to Queenstown’s historic Skippers Rd, along with road warning and map panels, has been fully restored by local architect Ed Elliott and his draughtsman son, Zandrie.

Bourdeau was a French-Canadian who owned a store at Skippers Saddle in the 19th century and made twice-weekly trips by packhorse between the goldfields and Queenstown for 50 years till he died in 1916.

Ed says he and Zandrie volunteered to do the restoration on behalf of the Queenstown and District Historical Society (QDHS) as the sign was in "a bit of a sorry state".

Ed adds: "I’ve interpreted him from a photo, so his hat actually looks like the appropriate rimmed hat.

"And with the character of his face, and his distinctive beard, we’ve given him his character back, and he’s keeping a good eye on people that are going past."

Ed says he even got advice from local doctor Val Miller as to his skin colour, "and so I say Val is now his doctor".

He’s grateful to QDHS for supplying etching paints and other materials and paying for his petrol — he estimates they made 26 trips.

They also updated lettering on the road-warning panel and the map, and replaced four pictures with photos taken in Skippers over autumn.

"It’s like a time warp going in there, and it’s just so special," Ed says.