5 (feels like 1) - 20 (feels like 14) deg C, although it was a lovely sunny day, the wind was a tad lazy and cold
We both did early morning walks today and after breakfast lingered at the van until it warmed up. Another layer of clothes and then on the bikes to see a few more of the sights. It was then back out to the Woolscour for the 11:30am tour. We are glad we did the guided tour but our guide gave us the commentary as if we were a bunch of school kids. They must get lots of them coming through. However, he did know his stuff and explained all the processes well. We did a quick tour of the other buildings at the complex, before heading home via the Blackall Saleyards where the cattle had been congregating at least since we arrived here. The weekly sale is on tomorrow. We did a few more sights before heading home for lunch and a rest.
We then went out again on the bikes as there were still a few things on the town map that we have not seen. We both enjoyed our stay in Blackall, it has a great history and they've tried very hard to make the place look interesting and welcoming. As they say in the classics, 'we will be back'.
We had our regular pub night out at the Barcoo Hotel and despite mixed meal reviews on-line, both meals were excellent. For a Wednesday night it was busy; maybe people in town for the cattle sales. We walked home with some leftover steak and half a bottle of wine.
A fantastic day out in the big paddock of Australia.
Major Mitchell Memorial, who discovered the site, in 1846, whereon the township of Blackall now stands
Wire piggies
A new eatery where Tattersall's Hotel used to be
Roly Poly, by Richard Moffat
Brolga street sculptures
Another mural by Christian "Sauce" Griffiths
A random sculpture
Old Queensland National Bank
Circle of Friends representing the feeling of community being family
Blackall RV Campground this morning
The Blackall bore water integrating with the Barcoo River
The Barcoo River
Lifespan - recycled bore casings representing life in general in the outback,
paths that converge or cross over and level out to a new time or experience
Big Red
Roly Poly, created by Richard Moffat, the concept was all about having fun;
made with entirely recycled material
The Big Ram - symbolises the importance of the wool industry
Exhibits at Ram Park
A stone sheep at the Woolscour
Our Woolscour guide
The Woolscour bore
Two boilers driving the machinery in the Woolscour
Shearing shed
Shute that the shorn sheep went down
The English made 1905 Woolscour (washer); could only wash one bale (approx 35 fleece per hour)
The 1915 Australian made Woolscour
(less labour intensive and therefore able to wash more wool per day). The wash tanks are not as salubrious as the English ones, but did the same job.
The Australian wash tanks are not as salubrious as the English ones, but did the same job
All the overhead equipment to power the scour tanks and processes
The pots the soda ash detergent was made in for the first wash of the cycle
The Fellmongering tank - where the skins from dead animals (complete with fleece) were soaked for bacteria to eat away the skin, leaving just the wool; you had to leave it for 6 weeks - can you imagine the smell??!
The end of the wash process before the wool went into the dryer
The dryer; made in England
The dry wool is hoovered up into the loft of the shed, then fed through a hole back down into a baler
The bale is then squished in this press because in those days, wool was shipped by the m3, not by weight
The smaller, more weighty bales, were then fed up this device onto the awaiting train and sent off to Melbourne for sale; there ends the process
Shearers quarters; wait, where's my ensuite?
Here it is! Imagine this in winter?
The feed for the cattle at the sale yards
Some of the many cattle awaiting sale; happens tomorrow (Thursday)
One truck unloading the cattle, with an empty one passing it
"The Don" commemorating one of the last teamsters, George Gill,
who transported bales of wool to the railway in 1924
Town Bore; water temp = 60 deg C; flow rate: 4,173,120 litres/day; flows directly to homes and businesses giving unlimited hot water
Made from recycled materials, this Bottle Tree stands over 3m tall
The Town Blanket
St Patricks Catholic Church
One man's trash is... an interesting front yard
Pretty
The sign to Everywhere
This pic is deceiving as the painted tree is dead, and it is tree behind that has the leaves
Dinner venue; we don't normally photograph and post our dinners, but these were good; we were a bit sceptical as reviews were mixed. Wendy's steak was cooked to perfection and was tasty, and Greg's roast pork was also good (he doesn't normally eat pork, but this was good).
