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"The
political centre of the village is the blacksmith’s
bench. If there is a chance idler, he comes here to pore
over the newspaper that by noonday is always black with
the smoke and cinders from the forge, and marked with the
thumb-prints of many readers … "
(Source: Donald MacDonald 'Village and Farm'
in Australian Essays)
The same author recorded in 1887 that the people of Keilor
area enjoyed few social pleasures.
" … the older people are conservative both in
habit and opinion, while the younger, like most colonials,
are deeply imbued with the spirit of a new democracy. They
have no traditions to cherish, no institutions beyond those
of State and Church to maintain."
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