At 81, This Sculptor Is Still Turning His Lifelong Love of Sailing Into Art

For Tony Jones, boats have been part of his life for as long as he can remember.

The 81-year-old Perth sculptor grew up sailing on the Swan River and eventually turned that lifelong connection to the water into a body of artwork filled with boats, sailors and maritime stories.

His best-known work may be the statue of Eliza, the swimmer standing in the Swan River at Crawley Bay. The sculpture has developed its own following online, but Jones says his artistic identity is much more closely connected to boats and sailing.

His fascination with boats began when he was a boy sailing from Chidley Point on the Swan River.

Those early experiences stayed with him throughout his life. When he began drawing and making art, boats naturally became one of his favourite subjects.

Jones has spent decades developing sculptures that incorporate maritime themes and, in some cases, actual boat components.

His workshop is filled with objects connected to sailing, reflecting both his artistic interests and his personal history on the water.

For Jones, creating art is not simply about producing an attractive object. His sculptures often preserve memories of boats, places and a way of life that has changed over the decades.

The Swan River has remained particularly important to his work. Having spent much of his life around the river, Jones has watched its waterfront and boating culture change while continuing to find inspiration there.

His work has also placed him in the public eye. The Eliza statue has become a recognisable landmark, attracting attention from people who encounter it while travelling along the river or discovering images of it online.

Yet Jones remains more interested in the stories behind boats than in fame.

He has continued working in his studio well into his 80s, surrounded by the objects and materials that have shaped his creative life.

His approach is closely connected to observation. A boat can be a simple subject, but for Jones it carries memories of movement, craftsmanship, water and the people who spend their lives around it.

That connection between personal experience and art has allowed him to keep developing new work even after decades as a sculptor.

Today, his workshop serves as both a studio and a record of a lifelong fascination. The boats around him are not simply models or objects waiting to become sculptures. They are reminders of the world that inspired him in the first place.

At 81, Jones is still creating.

And after a lifetime spent sailing, observing and making art, the river that first inspired him continues to provide ideas for what comes next.

Source: ABC News, September 20, 2026.