|
The Blacksmith's Shop
The ‘Smithy’ was one of the most important buildings on any farm in the 1800s. Before the time of electric or gas welders, the only way to mend broken metal objects was for the blacksmith to heat them in a forge and 'forge weld'. Also, the farrier would have worked here, making and fitting shoes for the horses. The forge and bellows are still in place and in working condition. In 1868/69 a blacksmith is recorded in the station journals as coming by the day every week or so, perhaps from Hororata. The smithy was one of the early buildings on the station, as on 30 November 1869 a journal entry records, 'Bryan paving in front of smithy'. From the mid-1870s, a permanent blacksmith was employed for shoeing horses and making repairs to farm equipment. William McSweeney was employed here for over twenty-five years and most of that time he specialised as the blacksmith. The handle of the bellows has worn smooth with use. The smithy was the first farm building restored by the late Richard Foster. You can read about how he brought the building back from a sad state to one that will last another 100 years when you visit Terrace Station as part of a group. The names of Harry Cahill, an aboriginal stockman from Australia, and Harold White, a shepherd, both employed in 1919, are scored in the woodwork. |
The Smithy in use in 2025
The Smithy in 1970, before restoration
|
