Blacksmiths and green thumbs
Image: Eveleigh Railway Carriage Works Flower Show, c.1934 (source: State Library New South Wales, Home and Away 4505)
Have you ever wondered how a bunch of burly blacksmiths and boilermakers like to relax in their spare time? Competitive flower shows of course!
Flowers remind us that there is goodness and beauty in every direction.
F.C. Garside, Assistant Railway Commissioner, SMH, 3.4.1933
Image: Eveleigh Railway Carriage Works Flower Show, c.1934 (source: State Library New South Wales, Home and Away 4505)
Notorious for their tough conditions and even tougher workers, the Eveleigh Locomotive Workshops were an unlikely place to host a display of carefully cultivated blooms.
Social clubs and events were an important part of life at the Loco, and one of the ways the workers let off steam was via an active garden club.
In 1938 the Eveleigh Blacksmiths’ Shop won the major prizes at the Railway Autumn Flower Show, proving that these men were equally capable of handling delicate buds as they were wrenches and spanners.
Such a show must surely serve to give one a high appreciation of the quality of mind and character of the men who too rarely receive the recognition and reward their services to the community so richly deserve.
The Methodist, 30.03.1940
