Preserving the 'dying art' of wrought iron metalwork in Broken Hill

When Anthony and June Hadad found their dream home almost 50 years ago, they had not taken much notice of the distinctive front gate that came with it.

It would be some decades later, thanks to passers-by who would stop to admire it, that the couple gave more thought to the old gate's unique butterfly design.

"We've never really thought about it much. We've always just liked the fence and the butterfly [so] we never thought of changing it," Ms Hadad said.

"Only recently, one person stopped by and said, 'I like your gate', but now I've started seeing [more] people going past and looking at [it]," Mr Hadad added.

While the Hadads are unsure of the motivations behind the gate's unique design, which, like their house, was purchased from the local police sergeant at the time, they think they know who made it.

An artistic metalworker

In the 1950s, Cecil "Cec" Nejaim was known throughout Broken Hill for his wrought iron and welding business.

He crafted sheets of metal into intricate shapes on doors, gates, fences, chairs, tables and windows.

"He used to make all kinds of fences and gates [with] curls and things like that [and] he was very good at it too," Mr Hadad said.

Wrought iron consists of a variety of the versatile elements commonly used in construction in the 19th century and is known for being stronger than other metals and more resistant to fatigue.

With no access to the computer-aided laser-cutting technology available to modern-day metal workers, Mr Nejaim and his staff made everything by hand.

It is a method Scott Campbell still admires to this day.

Mr Campbell runs a conventional steel fabrication business on the same block of land where Mr Nejaim's workshop once stood.

"Someone could come to him and say, 'I've got this idea. I want my gates to have a peacock in them', and he would start sketching it.

"We've got computers and stuff these days [to make] images [but] he was just the master."

After purchasing the business from Mr Nejaim's son Dean Nejaim in 1993, Mr Campbell recalled the long-retired craftsman would still regularly pop in from his home next door, whether it was to chat steel or provide advice.

"He was very pleased to tell me all those years ago that he had wrought iron in every street in Broken Hill," Mr Campbell said.

"He was very proud of that."

Standing the test of time

Mr Campbell believes much of the wrought iron seen throughout Broken Hill, whether it was crafted by the Nejaim family or not, still stands the test of time.

"A lot of this wrought iron work is very labour intensive, but on the same token, Broken Hill as a city has a lot of wrought iron that's been around for over 100 years," he said.

"The gates on the Wesley Church, [the ones opposite] the Pirie Building, just to name a few, they're all still there.

Mr Campbell thinks the process of shaping wrought iron is a "dying art". 

One person who is similarly impressed with the creativity and longevity of the iron gates is the executive director of the West Darling Arts, Cathy Farry.

After developing an artistic interest in metalwork, Ms Farry started noticing a variety of distinctive fences and gates decorating the fronts of older buildings and is now trying to find out more about them.

"There's even more abstract ones which look like one-offs."

Work worth preserving

While the Hadads are proud of the way their unique gate sets their home apart, they'd still like to see wrought iron gates make a comeback.

"It'd be nice if other people copied [existing designs] or they might have better ideas than that even [because] people in Broken Hill are good with artistic things," Mrs Hadad said.

"It would add to the environment of Broken Hill."

Mr Campbell hopes to see wrought iron works preserved in the way heritage-listed stone buildings are in the town.

"We are a heritage city, and I think the wrought iron goes with [that]," Mr Campbell said.

"Not the new modern stuff with no detail at all. It's just a practical gate that's as cheap as you can buy."

Bringing back a 'dying art'

Newly armed with knowledge of Mr Nejaim's possible links to the older wrought iron designs, Ms Farry is interested in seeing the resurgence of trades like his before they are lost to history.

"[So] it'd be great to see that [style] come back."

For Mr Campbell, the time and labour involved in the process means he is unlikely to bring smaller gate designs back into the fold of his business.

But he said his history with Mr Nejaim and personal interest in wrought iron did motivate him to purchase some old equipment that he one day dreams of using to craft similar pieces on a much larger scale.

"I've got a couple of power hammers and all sorts of scrollwork machinery to do it," he said.

"The gates that we would love to build are [like] the ones going up to the Line of Lode [a precinct including a memorial for miners].

"A great big heavy set of gates with a Broken Hill proprietor on it or something like that."