Doddridge Blacksmith Shop at Angaston: In the Barossa Valley region of South Australia

An old blacksmith shop in the main street of Angaston has been a fundamental part of life since it was built by William Doddridge in 1873. He was a Cornish immigrant who first arrived on Kangaroo Island in 1837 and then moved to the Barossa Valley taking his blacksmith bellows with him.

The Doddridge family never had far to go to work - the family cottage is next door to the smithy - and work was pretty much all they knew.

The business was handed down through the generations until Hardy Doddridge took it over as a 16-year-old at the turn of last century. Today blokes like Ian Walker and Don Harper pound and sweat to keep old Hardy's legacy alive.

And along the way they give visitors a fine lesson in the art of blacksmithing. The day we were there they were making a cold chisel. And along the way we learned another lesson as the red hot metal began to lose its heat.

“Now see it's losing its heat - the hot red color is fading. If you try to shape it now you are liable to crack it so it’s better to put it back in the fire and reheat it. Hence the saying strike while the iron is hot.”

Do this for half an hour and you'll wonder how old Hardy managed it for 74 years. He shod his last horse at 86 years of age. For Hardy it was a way of life but for Ian it’s a hobby he mastered as a Tech Studies teacher.

But to the local Angaston kids Hardy Doddridge the Angaston legend always looked the same.

“Hardy would be here probably at eight o'clock to start the day. You'd see him and he'd be black with his glasses on and all pitted from the ash and the fire. You’d come in the morning and he'd still be black and he'd have his glasses on. I often wondered if he slept with them on!”

For Mick Shemmeld, the Smithy’s shop is full of a young boy's Barossa memories.

“He would pick up a draught horse’s hind leg and sometimes the draught would be a little toey. Hardy would be up in the air and down on the floor and he wouldn't let the leg go. He would shoe the horse no matter what - he’d just hang on!”

For many years this Smithy was the sole domain of men but not anymore.

“Look out for women. Get them in behind here mate and you've got to lever them out with a crow bar. They take to it like a fish to water - they're frightening. They always start off a little too slow so you've got to give them an incentive. You know, tell them it's somebody you don't like like the ‘old man’. And then they're into it you've got to stand back and duck!”

It sounds and looks like a frightening process but even the uninitiated can walk away with their own momento - a metal gum leaf forged by earth wind and fire at the Doddridge Blacksmith Shop in Angaston. It's open Saturday and Sunday afternoons or by appointment.

A&H Doddridge Blacksmith Shop
19 Murray St
Angaston
Barossa Valley
Open Saturdays 1pm - 3.30pm
Sunday 1pm - 3.30pm
Contact Colin Liebig 8564 2032