Billy Bishop (holding a picture of De Molen) took several trips to Foxton to gather data. Photo / Mike Tweed
Billy Bishop (holding a picture of De Molen) took several trips to Foxton to gather data. Photo / Mike Tweed
Whanganui East resident Billy Bishop isn't one to shirk a challenge.
Last year he designed and built a printing press completely from scratch for local artist Esther Newrick, and in 2021 he turned his attentionto something completely different.
The result? A replica of the famous Foxton De Molen.
Bishop said he always wanted to build one, but it wasn't until he spotted De Molen that he snapped into action.
"I thought that it was quite a long way to go to look at that beautiful windmill, so why not bring one up to Whanganui?"
"Every piece had to be cut out and made by hand. I just used my old bench saw and worked out what the scale would be.
"A lot of the material was just bits and pieces I had lying around."
The windmill's sail was made from his brother-in-law's aluminium whitebait net.
The windmill took 10 months to complete. Photo / Mike Tweed
"He never used it, so I dismantled it and repurposed it," Bishop said.
"Then I found a motor that had been lying in the back of my shed for about 10 years. I pulled it out and it had the right reduction gear on it, so I plugged it in and off we went.
"Now here it is, in all its glory."
Bishop, a former United States Navy engineer, said his last task involved fashioning some of the outside with replica brickwork.