Aussie’s unusual mannequin styling exposed after home listed

The main residence at 2889 Wollombi Rd, Wollombi.

A mysterious, 135-year-old blacksmith shop decorated with mannequins, dolls and chains has come up for sale between Sydney and Newcastle in one of the year’s most intriguing listings.

Situated in the Wollombi Valley area, the home abounds with eerie artefacts and has a storied history.

The 2,000 sqm block on Wollombi Rd includes a cottage, an old barn, a carport and an intriguing old blacksmith’s workshop, now known as the ‘Forge Gallery’.

Listing agent Stephen Annis-Brown of Wollombi Real Estate said the gallery offered “a bewildering array of old wares, second hand and recycled merchandise, clothing, artifacts, artworks and rarities beyond.”

The ‘Forge Gallery’.

Inside the gallery, which includes some strange and controversial artefacts.

It is littered with bits and bobs from a bygone era, including mannequins and dolls.

The gallery’s taste for dummies and dolls carries through the whole property — there are statues and mannequins in the living room, the carport and on the verandah.

The cottage appears to have kept many of its original features, maintaining its brick fireplace and the traditional stove in the kitchen.

There is also an outdoor bath on the premises.

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Mannequins on the verandah greet you upon arrival.

There are even mannequins in the carport.

According to Mr Annis-Brown, the property was originally purchased in April 1840 by a Scottish ex-convict named John McDougall for nine pounds, six shillings and eight pence.

Nowadays, the property is priced at a guide of $1.38m.

According to Free Settler or Felon — a historical research website offering records of convicts and settlers in the Newcastle area — John McDougall became a constable in Wollombi during his life.

He was responsible for the capture of a bushranger on Wollombi Rd — the site of this property — in April 1839.

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The kitchen has maintained some of the property’s original features.

More strange statues are found in the living room.

“The existing timber slab blacksmiths barn, now referred to as the Forge Gallery was then constructed in the mid 1890s,” Mr Annis-Brown said.

“It provided blacksmithing and farriery services to the expanding Wollombi Village.”

Mr Annis-Brown said the property has since had multiple uses including as a residence, workshop, gallery and retail outlet.

Moving forward, he said the block’s RU5 village zone permits would allow for both residential and commercial development.

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