At the time the smithy, and the whole of the area now taken up by the town of Walcha, was on land that was still part of the original Walcha grazing run.

In a letter dated October 28, 1851, Hynes said: “I was induced to come here as a blacksmith in the latter end of 1847 by Mr Jamieson of the Walcha Run, to trade with the public to my own advantage.”

He also said he did some work for Jamieson, without charge, for the privilege of being able to set up his place of business on station land.

The arrangement with Jamieson collapsed during 1851 with Hynes seeking help from the authorities, asking if he could buy land suitable for his purposes, and complaining that he was under threat of being ordered off his present workplace without any good reason being given.

It was in these circumstances that Hynes established a smithy in Derby Street, or rather on the Road to Ohio, as Derby Street was known in the early days. He also built a combined store and dwelling on land adjacent to the new smithy.

Mary Hynes took charge of the family business following her husband’s accidental death in August 1868 and, a few weeks later, advertised for an “experienced assistant for a country forge who must be a superior horse-shoer, a good mechanic and capable of doing the usual work required at a country smithy”.

Michael McGrath moved from Raymond Terrace to Walcha in response to the advertisement and, by 1872, had married Miss Annie Hynes and formed a business partnership with his mother-in-law.

The Walcha Municipal Council purchased the property in 1900 and built its new offices, now the library, on a portion of the site.

McGrath entered into lease agreements with council to conduct both the smithy and store.

James Herbert acquired the lease on the smithy some months after McGrath’s death in February 1907 and worked there until he established his new smithy in Hamilton Street.

Hugh Doak and Ernie Partridge, who later moved to Hamilton Street, had taken over by 1915, adding carriage building to the business activities.

The Hynes-McGrath smithy was eventually demolished, with Walcha’s electricity generating station being built on the site in the early 1920s. The Amaroo Aboriginal Land Council and the Walcha Men’s Shed now occupy the site.

The Walcha Local History Centre is in the Walcha Library. The Local History Centre houses the Walcha and District Historical Societies paper records. For opening hours, contact Kate Hoy on 0448 331 323 or or Bob Walsh on 6777 2318.