Abandoned and disused shearing sheds and wool sheds are littered all over country Australia. If you could run sheep, most properties also had a shearing shed as it was not viable to move the sheep very far to be shorn. The farmer would muster the sheep into a paddock nearest the shed, a team of shearers would arrive, and the sheep would be shorn and dispatched back to the paddocks.
Over time, production has changed from sheep to cattle to cropping to irrigation and others; and economies of scale have seen properties amalgamated into larger holdings known as aggregations. There is no longer a need for the smaller holdings to have their own shearing shed and they slowly fall into disrepair.
One of the properties nearby ceased to farm because it was resumed into a national park. The park protects and conserves land for the public estate and the benefit of all. However, the Parks authorities all over the country are rarely over-funded, and decisions are always made to prioritise the allocation of funds to the many needs. Feral animal control; protection of historical artefacts and features of cultural significance; maintenance of access roads; fencing off areas of threatened vegetation and habitat of endangered birds and animals; rubbish management; facilities for recreational usage of patrons; and the safety of visitors and parks personnel all need time and money spent on them. There is usually no money left over for the shearing shed that has not been of use for the last 50 years.
These small, functional, utilitarian sheds, many built between 80 and 150 years ago, made from locally cut timber and corrugated iron, usually built off the ground so the sheep droppings would fall through the floor, surrounded by sheep yards and races and tanks and dips, that were the heartbeat and pulse of the outback station, are slowly rusting away and falling apart. The roof of the one up the road has fallen into the building, the floor has been ravaged by the weather and white ants, the walls are starting to cave in and the head gear of the 6 shearing stands is about to detach from the walls and fall through the weed infested floor. I tried to represent it gradually decaying back into the landscape and subject to the full force of mother nature.
Soon, there will only be memories of the flies and the dust, the smell of lanolin and the bleat of the sheep and the sound of the kelpies moving the sheep into the yards. And whilst a restoration of these beautiful, useful, well used, and evocative buildings would be appealing, we cannot save everything that reminds us of things from our past.
Commenced: November 2023
Completed: November 2023
Dimensions: 40” H X 35” W
Materials & Technique: Commercial printed cotton fabric; mattress ticking; hand-dyed, painted, stained, rust-stained and manipulated fabric, deconstructed oil cloth riding coat; appliqued lace panels, melted plastic bath balls.
Bronwyn, your work is very beautiful, you have made the abandoned barn very beautiful. How funny that we both worked with rust. If I had used rust powder, I could have avoided many problems. It’s never too late to learn. That is the advantage of our group.
Evocative. Who would have thought you could make such a thing of beauty evoking rust and white flies and roofs falling in and sheep droppings. Just finished watching Faraway Downs, the series. So I already had Australia on my mind.
Learn a lot from you Bronwyn, thank you.
I have learned so much within your posts, Bronwyn. This sharing has touched my heart and mind. I see many similar buildings throughout our Canadian countrysides, but your story takes me to the depths of sadness and yet, the recognition of what will be ….things from our past.