Glencoe Woolshed
1860. Brother Edward inherits a pastoral empire
When Robert Leake died in 1860, Edward, who was living at the punt by the Glenelg River, returned to Frontier House to manage the property which Robert had left him. Edward was by now married with a child, the marriage not approved by Robert. Edward had not taken part in any of the running of the property since their dissolution of the partnership in 1855, Robert often criticising Edward for his lowly habits and lack of commitment to his work.
Edward’s lack of commitment to pastoral pursuits was to show out under his management at Glencoe with the rapid deterioration of the sheep and the wool, coupled with growing debt from continual economic mismanagement. Ned, as he was often called, was never considered the most stable mentally, Robert, the astute business man, the backbone of the running of the station. Edward did, however, build the lasting monument to the era of the Leake brothers at Glencoe, the Woolshed.
The first woolshed was built at Glencoe in 1844, and this end of the run was often referred to as “The Woolshed”. In 1861 Edward wrote home to Charles with early thoughts of a new shed;“We want a new woolshed building, we are still using the old one built at first”.
And then in 1863 Edward wrote home again to his brother Charles;“We are about building a new stone woolshed covered with galvanised iron. It will cost about 1,400 pounds, a large sum, but when you consider that the building is 140 feet long by 50 feet wide with two wool presses, I do not think it so dear ... one of the finest woolsheds about this part. I expect we shall shear about 50,000 sheep this season”.
It was designed by W.T.Gore, an architect responsible for many fine buildings in the South East. The woolshed was finished by October 1863, and the cost was 1,500 pounds.
To celebrate the opening Mr and Mrs Edward Leake invited over 200 guests to a Ball held in the shed. Later shearers quarters and a store were built nearby. The new woolshed was built about 400 yards from Frontier House and as Edward explained to his sister, Sarah, “... it has something of the appearance of a Church. Altogether the buildings have a very substantial appearance ... very much admired by the different visitors that call this way.”
The clip of 1863 yielded 429 bales of wool, “ all washed....and netted 8,363 pounds”. As was expected, in a letter to Charles in 1864, Edward stated that 47,000 sheep plus lambs were shorn in the new woolshed this year:“The sheep run in twenty flocks. In the first nine days of shearing, one hundred and fifty bales were carted to Port MacDonnell at 30/- per ton. We have about 100 hands extra during shearing, it all goes like clockwork ... We shear 2,000 per day.”
Above: Glencoe Woolshed working to create 'fleece and prosperity' in the 1800's.
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Left: By the 1970's it was on the brink of demolition, would-be owners intending to sell off its precious blackwood timbers.
Right: The owner, Scotty Kennedy preferred to give the Woolshed away, rather than see it destroyed, so he donated it to the National Trust of South Australia.
In 1976, an enthusiastic new committee led the restoration project, with the support of the SA government, led by Premier Don Dunstan .
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Pictured right: Scotty Kennedy, Premier Dunstan, committee member, Wendy Monger.
Left: The baling area restored. It is still possible to shear, sort and bale wool in Glencoe Woolshed, just as it was done in the 1800's.
The Woolshed in the 21st Century
The Woolshed is now a museum of historic blade-shearing and wool handling processes, enjoyed by history lovers from around the world.
With its hand-adzed, soaring Blackwood beams and pit sawn posts, the Woolshed remains a 'monument to fleece and prosperity'.
Never converted to mechanised shearing, it offers visitors the authentic ambience of the ‘click go the shears’ era.
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Car clubs are among the
many groups attracted to
the historic Woolshed.