The national biennial event attracts the best apprentice bricklayers and their teachers from across Australia, who compete for the coveted gold-plated award.

The Golden Trowel competition is a unique team event, where a group of three – a masonry teacher and two apprentice students – build a concrete structure with intricate detailing within a limited time frame. 

Each team is judged for precision, craftsmanship and conformity to the design specifications.

The event took place from October 15–17 at TAFE NSW Nirimba in Western Sydney, where part-time Bathurst TAFE bricklaying teacher Dooley Thomson from Parkes and Bathurst apprentice bricklayers Kevin Sawdy and Michael Ingwersen were among those who put their skills to the test.

Nine teams took part in the three-day event which involved teams being asked to construct an identical, decorative block wall of the Concrete Masonry Association of Australia (CMAA) logo.

Bathurst TAFE head teacher Peter Moore offered Dooley the opportunity to participate, which according to the Brickies Blog on the Become a Bricklayer website, was the first time that has happened for a part-time teacher at the event.

Dooley – who also owns Dooley Outdoors in Parkes – was also the youngest teacher and had two broken fingers during the competition.

He said it was the most stressful thing he’s ever done.

“I was stoked [with the win],” he said.

Each team was given the same plans on Sunday – on Monday and Tuesday apprentices had to build the wall.

All Dooley could do was plan and prepare his apprentices for the job and tell them when something didn’t look right.

“That was the hardest thing (not being able to help with its construction),” he said.

“It was a very intricate job, which involved 120 cuts.

“If my measurements weren’t right then the whole job would be stuffed.”

Competitors were only given three one-hour time slots over the three days to use the brick saw.

“If I didn’t have enough for them to cut out, the whole job could have stopped,” Dooley said.

“A big part of the job was time management.

“We had to be strategic, we cut everything before we started. Then I had it all laid out on the ground in order of how they’d pick it up.”

When it came time to construct the wall – that’s when Dooley and his team really shone.

They were praised for doing something unconventional with the construction of the lettering of the CMAA logo, which the Brickies Blog described as a “master stroke”.

The team reversed the blocks to give them a more uniform look and were the only team to do this. They were also the only team to complete the entire job.

Dooley praised his apprentices after taking out the national title, saying they were really level headed and easy to work with.

It’s the first time Dooley has competed in the Golden Trowel but said he had an apprentice – Dale Rogers from Parkes – who worked for him who won it 10 years ago.

In the lead up to the competition apprentices Kevin and Michael said they weren’t nervous about taking part.

However, they felt the pressure once the competition had begun, Kevin said.

“It was difficult there, time management was very critical,” he said.

“Everyone just put their heads down working.”

Kevin said he and Michael were very excited to be crowned the best in Australia at the competition.

“It was really exciting to win,” he said.

Peter Moore said during the Golden Trowel, competitors are required to undertake much more complex work than just build a wall.

“It’s a lot more difficult, there’s a lot of pressure,” he said.

The CMAA website states the Golden Trowel is Australia’s only team blocklaying competition.

“[It] encourages excellence among apprentices while recognising the valuable skills of young people in a skill-shortage trade,” it states.

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