The early-morning river circuit that we do at least a couple of times a week takes us along Blacksmith Road, so I was interested to come across this account of its history (once again courtesy of the Sarawak Heritage Society and its WhatsApp feed).

The area used to be a settlement for Henghua fishermen and Hakka blacksmiths, and was still a thriving part of town in the 1960s-70s.

It had its ups and downs. The various sectors of the Henghua community (who originated from different districts in China) didn't always see eye to eye, and the area was prone to flooding during king tides.

The blacksmiths served customers as far afield as Miri and Limbang, and according to the granddaughter of one of the craftsmen, items made by way of the traditional smithing process were much superior to factory-made tools. It was a laborious task (making 75 parangs would take a couple of days), but the end product, she says, was "sublime", with a high degree of toughness and sharpness, and a build and weight that could be customized to suit the user.

In the 1990s, however, the settlement that used to be sited here was moved to make way for "development". The temple I've mentioned a couple of times (and whose name I still haven't discovered) used to stand opposite the shophouses that were lined up in two rows by the river, but was also relocated.


I'm not a fan of the Riverine block, but I guess times move on...