LOCAL resident Darren Sutton was born in Melbourne and moved to Beechworth in 1995 after spending many years working in the region and from a young age visiting family, who have lived in the area since the gold rush days.
What do you did do workwise and what do you do now?
For more than 45 years I worked in corporate business management and later in tourism management. During COVID and all the lockdowns we all had to endure I decided to make a lifestyle change and go back to what I like doing the most. I now work from home in my own business as a self-employed gold and gem prospector, silver and goldsmith, and jewellery maker based here in Beechworth.
What brought you to your role/career?
I have had an interest in gold, gemstones and mining from a young age. My parents took my sister and myself out in the bush looking for gems when we were very young, then I found my first gold nugget at 18, studied gold and silversmithing at RMIT, and after years in the corporate sector decided to do what I want to do, not what I have to do.
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What do you love about your work?
In my work I get enormous satisfaction finding unique gemstones in the local area, cutting and polishing them, and making them into jewellery pieces which I then sell at local markets. I love it when people appreciate the work I do and the pieces I create. It is a lifestyle choice, where I can work at my own pace and enjoy more time in the bush enjoying the natural environment.
What do you do in the community?
I manage the monthly Beechworth Farmers Market for Christ Church Beechworth Anglican Parish. I really enjoy my role and see this as an important opportunity to support local makers, bakers and growers, and help them grow their businesses.
Is there an important community issue that you think needs addressing?
The most pressing community issue at present is the lack of affordable or any accommodation for young people wanting to leave the nest and be independent. Our young people have no choice but to leave town and their families if they wish to be independent but even then finding affordable rental accommodation is near impossible.
What do you see as one of the most important current world issues?
At the moment the most important world issues are the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East which have the potential to escalate and have a serious effect on the world economy. We are seeing the emergence of a new world order which has the potential to forever change world economies, and the freedoms we once enjoyed.
If the person you would most like to meet came to Indigo Shire (past or present), or was already here, who would that be, what would you show them, and why?
I would like to bring TV personality Adam Liaw to Beechworth to show him our Chinese history, including the Chinese section in the cemetery, the Oriental bank, Chinese Gardens, and where the Chinese village was situated. Adam has a keen interest in history and is a great bloke with a strong interest in Chinese Australian history. I had the pleasure of working with him on a TV history show a short time back.
What book are you reading?
‘Geopedia’ by Marcia Bjornerud, described as a “Brief Compendium of Geological Curiosities”, which is a trove of geologic wonders and the evocative terms that humans have devised to describe them.
