Bathurst is one of several regional inland cities holding historic-trades fairs, tapping into growing enthusiasm for a slower, more sustainable way of
living and of making things.
By
Nicky Catley | Photography Liz Ham•
5 March, 2024
Bathurst teenagers (from left) Cleo Bailey, Scarlett Bailey and Lara Hadley, with bicycle maker John Kitchen, ride John’s handmade penny-farthings outside the Beau Brown Pavilion at the heritage-listed Bathurst Showground. The site was used for rollerskating for some years up to 1913 and then became a military camp and hospital during World War I. The showground hosts the Royal Bathurst Show every April, arguably the biggest agricultural show in NSW outside Sydney’s Easter show. Lara says that as well as sharing her generation’s interest in the sustainability value of repurposing and restoring handmade things, she’s drawn to old things because vintage items, inherited possessions and ancient crafts have “stories already woven into them”.
Little more than a century ago, the glorious heritage-listed Beau Brown Pavilion in Bathurst Showground – arguably Australia’s oldest rural showground – was a rollerskating rink, and the town gave rise in 1909 to world record–breaking skater Mr J. Kaye.
Rollerskating is enjoying a revival in Bathurst, but it’s not the only recreational activity to come back into vogue in this historic inland city. Last March, local teenagers were navigating with flair the same space on modern-day penny-farthings, as part of a revival of interest in old arts, crafts and trades, once central to life but now largely lost.
Penny-farthing maker John Kitchen has worked with bikes for more than 40 years. He’s built – from scratch, and to order– 20 of these high wheelers during the past decade in Bathurst. That’s included hand-forging the 64 spokes in each of the huge front wheels. It’s a slow process engineering these marvels by hand. But that’s characteristic of each of the old crafts and trades showcased locally every autumn as part of the Bathurst Heritage Trades Trail.
All the colour and characters from Bathurst’s Heritage Trades Trail in 2023.
Bathurst is one of several regional inland cities, including Bendigo and Toowoomba, to hold historic-trades fairs during recent years. The fairs celebrate a growing enthusiasm for a slower, more sustainable way of living, whereby goods, including saddles, buttons or chairs, are made by hand. They’re conspicuous in a mass-produced world underpinned by cheap manufacturing and consumerism.
As well as the showground and other significant landmarks, Bathurst’s heritage trail takes in the preserved cottage of former prime minister Ben Chifley and the privately owned heritage icon Abercrombie House. During the fair, the showground hosts dozens of artisans skilled in rare crafts who, throughout a bustling weekend, sell and showcase their creations via demonstrations such as whip cracking and drystone-wall building.
While some heritage tools for sale may have had their day – like the 200-year-old bunion reliever I picked up at one stall during the 2023 fair – many of the old trades are finding new purpose in a modern world. Handcrafted lacework, for example, is back in favour in the mercurial world of fashion, and if a runway extended from Paris to Bathurst, dedicated fashionistas would find exquisite berets, bowls and even entire gowns made by lacemakers who’ve spent lifetimes perfecting their skills in the craft.
We also met a young fletcher, Pete Storey, who subverts the traditional craft of making bows and arrows by using new materials such as PVC and foam, raising eyebrows along the way among bushy-bearded elders. Pete has tapped into the appetite of cosplay fans for expensive costumes, and transforms traditional bows by embellishing them with fantastic decorations as props for television and films.
Pete felt he was walking a “solitary path” and was hopeful that, by taking part in his first Bathurst heritage fair, he’d find a supportive community who shared his passion for fine craftmanship with a modern twist.
The ear-splitting sounds of Brad Harper cracking two whips in spectacular unison drew queues of aspiring young cowboys and cowgirls to try their hand. But the most popular master craftspeople were charismatic Wailwan/Yuin singers Laurance and Fleur Magick Dennis. The pair are senior cultural educators sharing knowledge of Indigenous tools that are still used on Country as part of everyday life.
Just as the Heritage Trades weekend is revitalising old crafts and traditions for contemporary life, Bathurst is transforming into an exciting, progressive city that trades on its grand past as the nation’s oldest inland European settlement, all the time firmly looking to the future, with the local council investing heavily in new sustainable technologies and contemporary arts and culture.
Electric car–charging stations sit incongruously outside heritage venues, once-derelict laneways and car parks have been repurposed into event spaces with light projections and outdoor art, and a state-of-the-art high-tech collections facility has been built to safely house museums and gallery collections.
Yes, it seems that everything old is new again in Bathurst.
The 2024 Bathurst Heritage Trades Trail is taking place at Bathurst Showground on the weekend of 16–17 March, 10am–4pm. A free shuttle bus transports visitors to other heritage sites on the trail.