Page 17 - Port Douglas Magazine 43

A TROPICAL

TWIST OF FATE

The story of Wicked Willies began, fittingly, as a chance
encounter. After meeting overseas some years earlier,
Tracey and Willie, wound up in Cairns with little more
than a shared sense of adventure. “We were completely
penniless with no plan,” Tracey recalls. While money was
scarce, the one thing Willie did have was a big, infectious
personality. As a talkative Scotsman, Tracey tells of Willie’s
innate ability to make friends wherever he went. It was this
charming trait that led them to befriend a jewellery maker
from Melbourne for whom they soon started working.
After six months of making and selling jewellery at the
Cairns Night Markets, fate would have it that their boss
business to his two trusted travellers. Borrowing the money “TRAcEY ANd WiLLiE FELL mORE ANd
was forced to leave the country and offered to sell the
themselves as business owners, and successful ones at that. mORE iN LOvE WiTh ThEiR cUsTOmERs
from Willie’s mother in Scotland, the pair suddenly found
and more in love with their customers and their craft and ANd ThEiR cRAFT ANd WERE AbLE TO
Over the next three years, Tracey and Willie fell more
were able to weave in their travelling spirit with regular
buying trips to Mexico and Thailand. In 1999, after a WEAvE iN ThEiR TRAvELLiNg spiRiT
recommendation from a friend, they uprooted their
store and took a leap of faith moving to Port Douglas WiTh REgULAR bUYiNg TRips TO
where a vibrant community promised bigger and better
opportunities. “The timing was perfect,” Tracey remembers. mExicO ANd ThAiLANd.”
“Port Douglas was booming, and the town welcomed us
with open arms.”

BuILdIng A LEgACy OnE gEm AT A TImE
As they settled into their new home, Wicked Willies
became a local favourite, known for its unique pieces
and unbeatable service. With his outgoing nature, Willie
quickly became a well known and much loved figure in
town, making friends with nearly everyone who walked
through the door. “People would come just to chat with
Willie,” Tracey says, smiling at the memory of her late
husband, who tragically passed away in 2013. “He had such
a presence; everyone loved him.”
The shop’s success came down to its business model which
ensured a constant flow of fresh new stock that couldn’t
be found elsewhere. “We’ve always had a big emphasis on
gemstones but we only ever opt for the highest quality,”
Tracey explains. “I choose every single piece based on the
quality of the stone. It needs to have the right colours, it
needs to have movement and it needs to have the right
setting to make the stone pop.”
One such stone, and a Wicked Willie’s best seller, is one
of the rarest in the world - the larimar. Found only in the
Caribbean nation of the Dominican Republic, the mining
of this stone has been stopped, making its supply uber
limited. “I believe we’re the largest stockist in Australia,”
Tracey tells with pride. “Its beautiful colour and unique
settings, like the seahorse, frog or turtle, are reflective of
the Great Barrier Reef making it the perfect memento for
tourists to take home.” Early days, the team enjoying some down time. Willie, Melea, Tracey, Dani & Shelley