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The massive Blackall Woolscour is the only steam-driven woolscour remaining of the 52 which once operated in full swing across the country. With $2 million in funding from the Queensland Heritage Trails Network, the dilapidated Blackall Woolscour waslovingly restored so visitors can see and hear genuine early 20th century steam driven machinery in all its noisy action!
Colourful local characters lead guided tours to explain each stage of wool processing, with a liberal sprinkle of 'yarns' along the way!
Blackall is also where the first artesian bore was sunk and local shearer, John Robert Howe, better known as Jack "Jackie" Howe, blade shore 321 sheep in seven hours and forty minutes, a record that still stands.
Mechanical wool scouring required hot, soft water and Blackall's bore water was perfect for the job. At its peak, almost three million litres of bore water flowed each day, of which 910,000 litres were used in the scour. The free flowing waters of a bore sunk in 1906 still flow at the woolscour, and at the local Aquatic Centre where you can soak in the waters.
At the woolscour, visitors can try hand-shears as used by Jack Howe, test their skills at wool classing and stand well back from the Hargan saw, known as the widow maker, a dangerous tool used to cut the one and a half tonnes of wood needed each day to fire up the boilers. |
