Austrian-born cabinetmaker Gunter Grafenauer has operated Molloy Timber with his wife, Pamela, for 38 years and is finally hanging up his tool belt.

The couple's Molloy Street business was recently sold and will be redeveloped into a large industrial complex.

Mr Grafenauer bought his company in 1975 from the Molloy family, who opened a steam-driven sawmill called Molloy Brothers in the early 1900s.

In the first few years of operation, Molloy Brothers' timber was delivered from the top of Bulli Pass by bullock wagon.

A passionate and respected craftsman, Mr Grafenauer said the decision to sell his business was difficult but, at almost 73, he wants to spend more time pursuing his other passion - skiing.

He will, however, continue making plenty of wooden toys for his four grandchildren.

In 1960, Mr Grafenauer migrated from Austria where he had learnt his craft by restoring antiques and palace doors that were destroyed during World War II.

When he arrived in Wollongong, he built cottages and was a regular customer at the timber shop owned by Arthur Molloy, the father of the four Molloy brothers.

"One day I walked in and it was Mrs Molloy who said to me 'would you like to buy a business?'," Mr Grafenauer said.

Together, Mr and Mrs Grafenauer rebuilt the business - he ran the warehouse and she did the books from home while looking after the couple's two daughters - once again turning Molloy Street into a thriving timber yard and mill.

"When I first started I just had one truck driver and myself," Mr Grafenauer said.

"And then I bought a couple of old machines and we started to machine stuff to special sizes and from there it just grew."

Business boomed in the late 1970s and into the '80s, but was stymied by the 1990 recession.

"We stopped milling the big stuff because in the '90s there was a lot of imported timber coming in that was already sized to traditional sizes and we couldn't compete price-wise with it.

"Also, the big companies around here decimated the smaller businesses - we used to have 12 people here and we're down to just me and my wife.

"But we've seen the best years."

For the past 20 years, Mr Grafenauer has run popular woodworking classes, teaching hundreds of Illawarra men - and a few women - to craft beautiful furniture and children's toys to his meticulous standards.

He's also been a font of knowledge for scores of the region's woodwork students who sought his personalised advice on their Year 12 major projects.

"They come to me because I do all the special sizes and help them with their projects," he said.

Alf Harley, who has been going to classes at Molloy Timber for 15 years, said the Grafenauers would be sorely missed by many.

He said Mr Grafenauer was a "wonderful man".