blackall woolscour

The Woolscour is a top-class attraction, a piece of industrial archaeology that offers an excellent insight into the less-than-ideal working conditions of yesteryear ... which is as recent as 1978 (when it shut up shop). The noise, the stench, the heat, the hard yacka ,,, I have no doubt it was a tough working environment that wouldn't get many takers today. No wonder the Australian union movement kicked off just down the road at Barcaldine. The artesian bore outside makes a great counterpoint.

Oh, how the shear ers worked !!!!!Jack Howe a legend. Completely done up tho currently not working copy of how it was down from shearing, handling fleece, washing fleeceBagging fleece, carting fleece. All machinery in working order, how they separated a farmers fleece from another, grading, .As a female I found this intensely interesting to know how things were......well worth the trip and minimal cost...male older..guide could have been a bit more interactive. Didn't encourage or respond to questions readilyTho a hot day.....

This is an amazing attraction. To all the other 'grey nomads' I would recommend spending a hour or two learning how our forebears earned their living. This is a perfect example of the the adage about Australia living on the sheep's back

Fabulous! We visited the woolscour in the off season so the steam engine wasn't running. The tour was fabulous. The machinery ran as a demonstration and it was all so interesting and unique. Our 6 yr old loved it!

This is the only wool scour plant left. To be taken by a guide who actually worked in the scour amazing. He tells the story of this plant over many years. To see the steam engines wonderful. The scouring process pretty amazing and the finished product great. History you will never see if you do not go.

What a credit to the community,a lot of man hrs have gone in to get it up and running,the engines are just splendid,you can feel the activity that would have been happening in the shed,and could smell the wonder smell of a shorn fleece,and to have artesion bore at hand,for washing of the fleece,from the sheep to a bale of wool,and to employe all those men doing different jobs to help keep the wheels in motion.Also what a clean town nice to see a few green lawns.

Great information about an important part of Australian history. There is a real artesian bore there. Put your hand under and feel how hot the water is coming straight from under the ground.

We came through Blackall to see the Woolscour on the recommendation of friends and were very pleased we did. We were shown a short video and then taken around by an ex-shearer "Willow" who explained the history and process of wool cleaning very well. It was started in 1908 and closed in 1978 when the bottom fell out of the wool industry. The site would have gone to ruin had it not been for locals who restored it and it is now possible to see the machinery working.

An interesting and unusual place to visit being the only fully intact steam-driven wool washing plant left in Australia even though not now used commercially. There was a short interesting film to start followed by a guided tour of the woolscour ... the guide was very knowledgeable about the workings of the woolscour as well as its history.

Excellent conservation of history and a mighty job to restore all this old machinery to full working order. Fabulous hospitality by a few very dedicated locals, mostly volunteers. Also enjoyed a great camp oven dinner that evening. Well worth a visit and a venue for the community to be proud of.

This is a little known piece of Australian history but one which every Australian should experience. The ingenuity, tenacity and pioneering spirit of these great Australians is something to behold. The tour guide had first hand experience from working at the scour and the steam engine engineer was a wealth of knowledge and was more than happy to answer our questions. As a Longreach local it is to my shame that I hadn't visited the wool scour sooner. Congratulations to the community of Blackall for restoring this important piece of Aussie history back to working condition. A must see for all Australians young and old.

This is the only woolscour left in Australia. It is a wonderful piece of Australian history. It is well-worth the 4 km detour from the main highway. Restored as a community project, it commemorates the days when sheep formed the basis of much of the country's economy. Tours are on the hour and really should be taken as that is the only way to actually enter the building where the shearing of the sheep and scouring of the wool occurred. The entire visit can be completed in an hour but one could linger and explore for longer. while fascinating for adults, it is also a place where children can learn firsthand, and seeing the equipment is really interesting.

What a fantastic piece of wool industry history. Blackall Woolscour has THE ONLY Mills Brothers steam engine left operating on steam in the whole world. It is fully restored and is operating the machinery that was built in 1908.17,000 volunteer hours were spent over 12 years to restore this piece of history. The wonderful volunteer folk that restored it and now run tours through it are really battling to keep the funds up to keep it open. It is set in beautiful grassed grounds with a spring running into a pond. Our guide was fantastic, she knew all about the operation. She has lived in Blackall all her life and used to work at the plant when it was in operation.Stay the night at the Blackall caravan park or cheap camp on the common in the middle of town and make this visit a must on your bucket list.

This is the finest example of community projects. Hard to imagine how much work has gone in to locating and restoring everything that makes this such an amazing experience. Not just a static history lesson - this is a working scour - watch all that huge machinery, belts turning wheels and gears, great combs rolling over and over - all around you this is living history. Just wish they had a sprinkler system to protect this unique place. A must see

I have heard from so many that this is really good so I think we just got the wrong guide. Our guide was not enthusiastic or passionate about the whole setup and I got the feeling she wasn't really giving us the full story like she couldn't really be bothered telling us about it (don't know if it was because we were not all older people on the tour). She rattled off facts, didn't leave any time for taking photos in some parts of the tour and we both walked away feeling that it was probably the worst tour we have ever done anywhere which is very disappointing and actually feeling a little ripped off. I would be interested to do it with a different guide as I'm sure there is a lot more we could have got out of it. I didn't really know who or where I should tell about our experience as its not good for business to have someone like that there especially when it's the only main attraction in the town and the locals have put so much effort into the restoration of it. We did however have lovely tea and scones for a very reasonable price on the back verandah while the rain tumbled down and it was really lovely and relaxing. The lady in the shop was really nice and the old fella running the steam engine was very passionate and knowledgeable about it which was great to see.