Today, the shop remains a wonderful working example of the trade, with many of the original tools and equipment on public display, including a forge, anvil and cow-hide bellows shipped from England that span over two metres in length.
To the rear, the museum is home to a remnant collection of historical artefacts.
Doddridge ledgers dating back to 1883 record everything from monthly shoeing of police horses and iron work on butter churns, to chisel sharpening and coach repairs.
The museum also houses an impressive collection of vehicles including a 1925 Dodge buckboard, fondly remembered as Turners Butchers’ vehicle.
Also on display is a circa 1890 English wagon from Linke Blacksmiths of Moculta, which was used by Colin Angas on his Hutton Vale property.
Visitors to the museum can take home their own piece of local history with handcrafted items such as horseshoes, candlestick holders and garden ornaments made on-site by volunteers.
Leo and his fellow volunteers describe it as “soul work”.
“I’ve been lighting the forge since I was a kid – that was my favourite job when I was young, playing with fire,” Leo laughs.
“They would have used charcoal years ago, but today we use coke, which is coal with the gas burnt out.
“The reason we keep the lights dull is so you can see the colour of your iron; you know what your fire is doing with your eyes.”