Allan Lane has been wood carving since 1943

Born in the bush, Mr Lane has always felt an affinity with trees.

Spending his early years in what is now Maydena - the southern Tasmanian township didn't exist until 1948 - Tasmania's wilderness has always been a source of inspiration for the now-Deloraine local, in state's central north.

The 95-year-old began his carpentry apprenticeship in 1941, but soon felt the call to more creative pursuits.

He began woodcarving in 1943, starting with three hand-carved dog figurines that sit proudly in his lounge room still today.

Since those first figurines, Mr Lane has been prolific, his passion for wood work becoming a verifiable obsession.

One of his most ambitious projects was an intricately carved queen bedhead - a wedding present for his son and daughter-in-law.

"The left side features the moon and a ringtail possum, at the centre is a heart with a lovers knot above and the ribbon goes around and ties both ends of the bed together," Mr Lane said.

"And the right hand side is the is the sun coming up with a kookaburra. A kookaburra isn't Tasmanian but we had a pet one growing up."

But it is his wooden spoon collection that was to become his life's work.

What began as a simple request from his late wife Alma for a spoon for her sugar bowl has become a collection of 130 items, representing thousands of hours of work.

The largest spoon in the collection is over five-foot-tall and the smallest is the size of a matchstick, each of them hand carved from foraged wood.

For Mr Lane, the practice of carving seems to have spiritual significance, a connection between himself and nature.

"From the air that I exhale comes the wood from which I carve my spoons," he said.

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A desire to keep the collection in its entirely resulted in Mr Allan approaching the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery to bequeath his collection.

The decision was a time-consuming process, with Mr Lane self-publishing a book cataloguing the collection in its entirety.

He is able to recall details about the collection with astonishing detail, down to the type of wood each piece is carved from and exactly where the wood came from.

One of the standouts of the collection, the Four Season Spoons, are carved from sassafras timber at various stages of life.

Using fresh wood for spring, mature wood for summer and autumn and for winter - it's a piece of wood that is beginning to decay.

"They also show the life cycle of people," Mr Lane said.

"I , myself, am now going through the last stages of winter."

One of his key supporters in the process of collating the collection was Frances Bishop, Mr Lane's friend through Red Cross' Companionship and Social Support program.

After living by himself for 17 years, the companionship program has proved invaluable for Mr Lane, but Ms Bishop believes that she is the one who has gained the most from their friendship.

"I just love our Thursdays together," she said.

Ms Bishop has thoroughly enjoyed hearing all of Mr Lane's stories through the process of writing and printing the book.

"What really stands out is his love of trees - both alive and dead," she said.

The Red Cross' Community Visitor Scheme has been running for the past 25 years

The process of matching participants and volunteers takes personality, hobbies and life experiences into account and aims to match people with commonalities.

"It's about a genuine friendship that we support to grow organically," Northern Regional co-ordinator, social connectedness programs, Natalie Hay said.

"We want longevity and we want it to be a genuine connection between people in the community."

The program is lacking in volunteers to meet demand from the community and Ms Hay implores people to consider volunteering their time to the program.

"Often the volunteers get more out of it than the participants," she said.

Mr Lane and Ms Bishop are testament to the authentic connections that can form through the program.

The spoon collection is set to be on display at QVMAG later this month, launching with a cocktail party with Mr Lane as the guest of honour.

"I will wear a tie," he said.

"As long as it's not a penguin suit."

The gifting of the collection to QVMAG is a culmination of Mr Lane's life's work.

It is also an important milestone in his friendship with Ms Bishop.

"It tells a story about Allan," she said.

"It tells the story of his life."

If you would like to enquire about volunteering with Red Cross' Companionship Program please contact Natalie Hay at nhay@redcross.org.au or call (03) 6235 6080.