Take a stroll down Smith Street in Cleveland on a Saturday morning and you’ll hear the high-pitched squeals of kids at soccer training while mums and dads sip coffee on the sidelines. The tradition of weekend kids’ sport is alive and well, but right next to the soccer field is Redland Museum, where a special group of volunteers is ensuring another tradition endures: blacksmithing.
The blacksmith hut at Redland Museum is a hothouse of activity every Saturday morning when the forge is fired by coals and skills are shared. It’s mesmerising to watch these centuries-old techniques on show inside the 1870s-built timber hut. Inside the museum, volunteers prepare to take the day’s visitors back in time, sharing their passion for local history through displays that are as authentic as they are interesting.
And today, when tech advancements arrive at lightning speed, the museum takes us back to a slower, more labour-intensive time when craftsmanship reigned supreme.
Thank you to those who gift their time to our community through volunteering at museums, art galleries, sporting clubs and mentoring. You’re superstars! For more information about blacksmithing at the museum, turn to page 6. We hope you love reading this edition of The Community Leader, and if you’ve got good news, please share it!
Pictured: Volunteers Tanja Vlasoff and Fiona Eastwood fire up the forge at Redland Museum.
