The Blackall Woolscour is a heritage listed woolscour built from 1900s to 1920s, and operated until the late 1970s. It was restored in the 2000s and now operates as a museum.
Along with the wool washing and drying tanks, the museum has a 20 stand shearing shed, large sheep yards, shearers’ quarters, cook house, and shower blocks. An informative and educational experience is provided to visitors, with volunteers ensuring this heritage site is shared with Australians.
The steam operated machinery is operated daily from May to the end of August, by the original steam engine dated 1908. Tours run every hour until the hour before closing time.
Scouring wool is a process of cleaning the wool from sweat, dead skin, and matter from the environment the sheep was in. The artesian bore water at 58 degrees supplied the hot water required for the cleaning of the wool.
I noticed the spelling on the brown sign is “Wool Scour”, but everywhere, including the Blackall Woolscour, is spelt “Woolscour”. Interestingly, the process of cleaning wool at a woolscour is wool scouring, spelt as two words.
Tours run daily at 9.30am and 11.30am, however, check the website for availability and any changes to hours.
Note: The Historical Woolscour was not visited, as we ran out of time to view some destinations at Blackall to keep to our travel schedule.