Brian Beasley teaching pioneer woodworking at Reconnect festival in Junee

Junee's annual 'Reconnect' festival began on Friday and will continue until this Sunday at the town's Broadway Museum.

For a gold coin entry on Saturday, visitors can partake in a huge arrange of activities such as pottery, blacksmithing, rope making, quilting, jewellery making and pioneer woodworking.

Brian Beasley, one of the event's key organisers, first discovered pioneer woodworking in the 90s and hasn't looked back.

He moved to Junee in the 1960s to teach woodwork at the local high school and continued until the early 2000s, retiring and choosing to invest his time into pioneer techniques which are too-often forgotten, he says.

After making his first 'shaving horse' Mr Beasley crafted a rocking chair using the tool and has gone on to make hundreds of creations, with just a fraction of these on display at the festival.

"When I started doing this I thought 'if all I do is sit here and make shavings, I'm having a good time'," he said.

"When I get people doing this the most common thing they say is 'this is therapeutic'."

Visitors of all ages will be able to witness his skills in-person or have a go at the old craft themselves, with a number of shaving horses, a hand-crafted lathe and kid-friendly tools all available.

Mr Beasley said pioneer woodworking techniques give him a good workout and keep him fit, all while being able to create something tangible.

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"Creating something with your own hands is such a satisfying thing to do and it can help a lot of people with mental health issues," he said.

"With technology there's masses of people who've been denied that experience and the cost to mental health is enormous."

The Reconnect festival will run from 9am to 4pm on Saturday, and will be followed by a poet's breakfast on Sunday morning.

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