Local tradespeople with special skills from years gone by will showcase their talent as part of this month's Childers Festival.
Resident Lachie McConnel will be part of the festivities, with his blacksmithing, rope making and wood laving skills on display for the Sunday, 25 July event.
Lachie has lived in Childers for 15 years but said his passion for blacksmithing dated back to 1944, before he started school.
“I used to come to Childers as a young fella cane cutting before they got machinery, then I got married and used to work in the citrus industry in Gayndah,” he said.
“I started blacksmithing before I started school and I have just always loved it, the joys of bending steel and making art, doing that sort of thing is a real hobby.”
The 81-year-old said this year he had been utilising his skills in blacksmithing and rope making to assist the Childers Scouts Group in creating products to sell at the Childers Festival.
“We have been doing some workshops making skipping ropes to sell with the funds raised to go towards the scouts who have seen a drop in numbers due to Coronavirus,” he said.
“We will have a good display of blacksmithing and rope making, and I might even bring the wood lave out too.”
Lachie said the opportunity to teach others the art of blacksmithing had always been something he was passionate about.
“I have taught heaps of people over the years, hundreds, I have lost count,” he said.
“I am 81 years old, how many years have I got? I want to hand the art down before I go.”
Lachie said blacksmithing was all about twisting and bending steel to create certain shapes and, with a steady hand and the right tools, anyone could give it a go.
“Firstly, you have to have a forge and you have to get the fire hot,” he said.
“It should run at 1200 degrees Celsius when you really get it working so you have to watch what you are doing.
“Once that's done, I can make whatever you want made- as long as I can bend it, it will be made.”
Lachie said he was looking forward to showcasing his skills and working alongside the local scouts at this year's Childers Festival.
“My health hasn't been real good for the last few years so I hung the hammer up for a while but I am feeling much better now,” he said.
“I will be here with the scouts at the Childers Festival.
“I enjoy the atmosphere of it, everyone does.”
The Childers Festival four-day program begins on 22 July and culminates with the main festival event in the CBD on Sunday, 25 July.
View the full program here.
I would love to see Lachie at work, but cannot find him in the program attached. Any idea where and when his shows will be?
He will be at the Historical Society grounds on Sunday