The mornings are getting very cool, but they result in bright sunny days with temperatures in the low 20's. Whilst Blackall is a small place, there is a lot to see and first up this morning we have booked a tour of the Blackall Wool Scour. The oldest, steam driven wool scour in QLD, it was operational until 1978.
There are 3 tours per day and we opted for the early one commencing at 9.30 am. We only had a 10 minute drive to get there so that seemed very doable. It turned out, we were the only two that had booked this early tour, so we had the guide's undivided attention for the duration of the tour. After a bit of Albo bashing to begin with, we headed out onto the site of the scour.
First stop was at the scour bore, where boiling hot water was gushing out of the well head. I am not sure what the temperature was, but you couldn't put your hand under it. This was a bonus for the scour that needed hot water and got it for free.
Next we approached the main building, which we soon found out was not just a scour, but a fully functioning shearing shed with 20 shearing stands.
First we were shown the boiler which generated the steam to drive the single steam engine that drove all of the equipment in the shed through a maze of drive shafts and belts.
The main boiler was wood fired using wood sourced on site from Gidgee trees
Nearly all of the machinery, including the boiler was sourced from the UK. It was commissioned in 1908.
This single cylinder steam engine drove the whole site, it is still operational
A step inside the building takes you into the shearing shed, arguably the start of the process. I was surprised that farmers bought there sheep here to be sheared rather than just bring the wool to be washed.
Holding yards for sheep
The shearing shed must have been a hive of activity with 20 operating shearing stands. Surprisingly, the wool was then baled, moved only a few metres to the scouring machines and then de baled to feed the scours.
Two scours were operating fully when at the factories peak, a second one (which was slightly more modern) was added as more capacity was needed.
The original line had to be fed by hand
The newer line (on the right) had a conveyor belt feed
To finish the process, the washed wool went through dryers and was re baled.
Both scour lines are fully operational mechanically and they were started up so we could see the complexity of these machines in operation.
It was a great tour with many more things to see than covered here.
From the loft where the dried wool is baled we had a good view of the bore and other buildings.
Part of the main building has been renovated with polished floors and a bit of memorabilia scattered around to provide atmosphere. It is now used as a function centre, mainly for weddings.
A wool bale forms a centrepiece of the function centre
After around an hour and a half of tour, we explored a few of the outer buildings, shearers quarters, old kitchen and a few new ones that have been added to support the function centre.
The old kitchen
By the time we were ready to leave, a larger group was arriving for the 11.30 am tour.
There are a few other tourist highlights we have to see, so we move on to find "The Black Stump". The original black stump was in Blackall. It was a survey reference point for this region, and anything west of Blackall was Beyond the Black Stump. The original stump was destroyed by fire and has now been replaced with a petrified wood stump on the same spot.
A monument telling the story of the Black Stump
The petrified wood stump in the original location
A statue for a QLD hero can be found in the main street, a champion shearer named Jack Howe. He shot to fame in 1892 when he broke the daily and weekly shearing records across the colonies.
On October 1892 he had shorn 321 sheep in 7 hours 40 minutes, at Alice Downs Station near Blackall. His weekly record was 1437 sheep in 44 hours 30 minutes. His daily record was beaten in 1950, but using machine shears, whereas Howe used hand shears.
Statue of Jack Howe
Nearby, we discovered that Blackall had it's own tree of knowledge, perhaps having a go at neighbouring Barcaldine, the birthplace of the ALP.
This afternoon I went for a walk in town and on the outskirts found Ram Park, the large ram statue obviously paying homage to the importance of the wool industry in Blackall.
The park itself is huge area with a collection of historic buildings gathered from around the area, a lot old agricultural machinery and a reasonable amount of junk.
Tomorrow, we move on to Longreach for a few days. A bit more of a leisurely drive than the past few.
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