His Eliza statue is Insta famous, but boats are Tony's true passion

His statue of Eliza in the Swan River has a cult following and its own social media pages, while another of CY O'Connor riding his horse in the ocean is a much-loved North Coogee landmark.

But Tony Jones's art is better defined by its strong maritime theme, which was inspired by sailing at Chidley Point on the Swan River from the time he was a boy.

"It just made sense to me. You sit down with a piece of paper, what am I going to draw? I'd better draw a boat," the 81-year-old said, laughing.

Boat parts are often incorporated into Jones's sculptures. He also uses sailing motifs and has re-imagined navigational markers as striking art pieces.

His sprawling workshop near Fremantle is a treasure trove of his passions.

There are sculptures of birds, maritime markers and wind catchers, half-made projects and every sort of material for future projects, including decades-old wooden beams from long-dismantled jetties.

And there are, of course, boats. Everywhere.

Slung from the roof, stacked against a wall, preserved under tarpaulins, and in the work bay, historic, often rare, wooden Swan River sailing dinghies that Jones has collected over the past 30 years.

"They remind us of the things we did, the precursors to the way things are now. And they're beautiful craft objects, too,"

he said.

[

Historic 'Sharpies'

Among the boats in the work bay are two "Sharpies" that legendary Western Australian sailor Rolly Tasker used in the lead up to, and during, the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.

Tasker and Malcolm "Huck" Scott won silver, Australia's first ever Olympic sailing medal, at the event.

Matt Dickmann, Jones' long-time collaborator, sailor, artist and woodworker is restoring the Sharpies, known as Falcon 3 and Falcon 4.

"I'm trying to finish it in a sense that everyone can appreciate what it used to look like," Dickmann said.

"One of the amazing stories about this boat is that this timber here is spruce and it was salvaged by Rolly from a plane that used to fly to Rottnest and back."

A place to call home

Jones's boat collection is so expansive, that he has teamed up with friends, neighbours, sailors and volunteers to set up the Swan River Sailing Dinghy Heritage Association which aims to restore the dinghies and find a permanent place for the collection.

"A bit of a men's shed for boating,"

he said.

The association wants the boats to be put on display, ideally in a traditional boat shed by the edge of the river, in partnership with a local government, yacht club or the WA Maritime Museum.

The shed would be a place to preserve that history of sailing and boat-making on the Swan River, as well as a place to bring boat enthusiasts together.

Lotterywest provided a grant to restore Rolly Tasker's Sharpies, and would like to see them displayed.

"These boats were involved in the first Olympic sailing win, which was an amazing feat," Lotterywest's Nikki Wilson-Smith said.

"Making them available to the WA public is a really an important thing." 

Tony Jones and his group of boat enthusiasts are still searching for that place.