Australian Capital Territory

Location: Ginninderra Blacksmith Shop, Barton Highway, Nicholls

Threat:     Neglect

The Ginninderra Blacksmith Shop is one of the few remnants remaining from the pastoral settlement of the area that is now Canberra, and as such should be retained for its historical associations with early Canberra.

It is a simple rectangular building, timber framed with walls of corrugated iron and original timber slabs. The roof is gabled and clad with corrugated iron and the floor is earth. It was used as a blacksmith’s workshop from the time it was built (c1860) until the last blacksmith, Harry Curran, retired in 1949. The nearby blacksmith’s residence was demolished in the early twentieth century. The interior of the building and the immediate surrounds have a high potential to contain sub-surface archaeological material associated with blacksmithing.

The building is owned by the ACT Government, but has been neglected for many years; and while limited funding has been provided for conservation, it is not enough to stabilise the structure, to repair the corrugated iron roof and corrugated and slab walls, and to remove invasive plants.

The Blacksmith Shop is listed on the RNE and the ACT Heritage Places Register and is classified by the National Trust.