I’d never heard of Steampunks until last weekend when I went to the Lithgow Ironfest. Braving overnight temperatures of minus 8 degrees , the Blacksmithing group which my husband belongs to, forged away for 2 days, while I manned the stall selling our eclectic range of His and Hers: his wrought iron and her (my) Forge Fire Jewellery.
As I stood behind the stall in my politically incorrect but very snuggly fur coat, I watched the passing parade of punters with increasing bemusement. First there were the knights in shining armour, then the Redcoats with their black boots and shiny brass buttons, then the vikings and so on. But the most interesting of all were the bustled corseted women escorted by dapper gentlemen in top hats or pith helmets, with all manner of gadgetry hanging on and off them. Where did these people fit into the scheme of things I wondered.
It wasn’t until I posted a picture of one particularly colourful couple on facebook and got a comment back from a young Ukrainian contact: “steampunks! 
” that I was introduced to their beautiful and bizarre culture. According to the wikipedia entry, it has been around since the 1980′s, so why haven’t I heard of it? Obviously mixing in the wrong , or at least different, circles!!
So, firstly, What is Ironfest? This year’s Official Ironfest website describes the event thus:
Ironfest is an arts festival with a metal edge, featuring art exhibitions, stalls, live music, dance, street performance, historical re-enactments, (including St George’s Day Jousting and a Napoleonic battle re-enactment entitled ‘The Battle of Lithgow’ featuring infantry, cannons and cavalry), blacksmithing demonstrations, workshops, busking competitions, automotive displays, educational, historical and technological displays and lots more..
In the Official program for this, the 12th Annual event, Macgregor Ross (known affectionatley to his friends as “Mac”), in his “Director’s Welcome” partly answers my question, “What is Steampunk?” He writes: ”Steampunk is Jules Verne meets JR Tolkein; the Golden Compass; HG Wells. Steampunk is striking a pose, sci-fi, eccentricity, quirky, looking good.” But it also harks back to the Victorian Age when steam was the main form of power, hence the “steam” in the name, and the link with the event at Lithgow, a town with a strong link to coal mining, iron production and steam technology, including the historic Zig Zag Steam Railway. On the Saturday night, all the steampunks and partners, hop on this small train and ride up and down the mountain while imbibing their absinthe or particular drug of preference. I asked one well-dressed fellow: “When does it finish?”, and he replied with a smile: “When we run out of steam”.
