This old shed
Have you ever walked into a place that feels homely yet ruthless and rowdy? Where you can feel hundreds of others have stood on the same floorboards? And the smell of lanolin may be old but still present?
The wind whistles through the slats of the floorboards and blowflies still zoom around looking for fresh manure. The birds are chirping outside and I am sure if these corrugated iron walls could talk they would tell millions of yarns. The gate latches are rusted and the timber yards are smooth. The building appears to be held above the ground by tree trunks, as if the entity emerged from the Earth. The lights are still hanging, waiting for electricity and the bulbs are covered in years of dust.
This is “Edgecombe” and this is her shearing shed. The shed serviced more than 1000 acres of land where many thousands of sheep have been raised. The property was acquired by the McLennan family in 1892, when Richard Cox left “Edgecombe” to his daughter Louisa, who was married to Alexander McLennan. I can’t even begin to imagine the property in its hey-day, the busy shearers, thousands of sheep and before that the people who built the shed over a century ago.
The shearing shed has been a part of Australian life for as long as there has been English settlement. The iconic saying we “rode on the sheep’s back” couldn’t be more true. Just look at the images on our old shilling or two dollar note, what do you see? None other than the Merino sheep. Yet the industry struggles today in the twenty first century and many (but definitely not all) shearing sheds have been re-purposed as homes, accommodation or wedding locations.
My great grandmother still tells me stories about how her father and brothers left their small farm in Gippsland, Victoria to shear sheep around Australia. It is amazing to think these men travelled by horse or bicycle to some of the most remote stations (large farms) just to make ends meet. The shearers were on the road for months at a time with next to no communication with their families. It was certainly a very different era to now and incredibly difficult to comprehend in the twenty first century.
When I think of shearers and early colonial Australia my mind drifts to Tom Roberts’ iconic 1892 painting ‘Shearing the Rams’. The painting is incredibly proud of the work these men are undertaking, through the use of light and the strong stance of the characters. The work appears hard but true and the shearer in the forefront of the artwork is certainly portraying the strength of the industry. That is enough artistic analysis for now, it’s important to remember this is one of few windows into the past and our wool industry heritage.
Now let’s look at what “Edgecombe” faced with the unpredictability of the wool industry. A little bit of background firstly about sheep and Australia, in the year 1800 there were 1, 243 sheep. In the 1820s Australia proved how serious they were about the wool industry: importing about 5 000 Merino sheep from England, France and Saxony. The 1890s and early 1900s were incredibly tough as climactic and economic issues led to a decrease in sheep numbers by 49%.
At this time “Edgecombe” was only just beginning to grow and Alexander McLennan found success in the show ring with livestock and was also a competent judge. Alexander even paid 40 guineas for a prize Tasmanian ram, which I suspect at the time was quite a lot of money. The Bendigo Independent (Thursday 16 November), a newspaper, displays that in 1893 Alexander McLennan could be found at the local Heathcote Agricultural Show, winning a multitude of prizes with his Merino sheep. One of the most notable classes was titled ‘Ram two tooth’, where A McLennan won both first and second prize.
At “Edgecombe” Alexander and Louisa had three daughters and one son Arthur David Murdoch McLennan. Arthur inherited the property when he was 21 years of age, he also bred and judged Merino sheep. Arthur had five children and in 1948 one of his sons, Kenneth Russel Francis McLennan inherited the property. At the time wool production in Australia was growing and prosperity peaked in 1950–51 at 144.2 pence per pound, which today would be around $37 per kilo. The value of wool then quickly declined and returns halved.
Back at “Edgecombe” Kenneth proved he must have been fine judge of Merino sheep, being named the Merino ‘strong wool’ judge for the Annual Australian Sheep Breeders’ Association in 1955. Kenneth was also instrumental in breeding quality stock as the shearing shed trusses that hold up the roof are lined with ribbons from the prosperous breeding. The ribbons consist of Merino, as well as prizes from Red Poll cattle and Old English Game poultry. When I look at these ribbons, they are more than pieces of material sewn together, they display generations of breeding and hard work. Today I hang my own Maine-Anjou cattle ribbons at “Edgecombe”, however I feel they pale in significance to the weathered entities.
The McLennan family sold “Edgecombe” in 1969 after the death of Kenneth and the family moved to Heathcote and then Bendigo. The property was sold multiple times and this explains why I am sitting in this shed. The story has evolved and I have become a part of the narrative.
Have you ever walked into a shearing shed in the afternoon? If you have you’ll know what I am talking about, there is a few minutes, sometimes only seconds of inspiring light. It is this light, that if there is a larger entity, is the closest I think we come to seeing on Earth. The light is more than enchanted, mystical or some other magical word. It is all encompassing, it feels almost sacred, and I am not religious. I remember as a child my mother referred to it as ‘God’s light’. I often wonder if the forbearers’ of the shearing shed at “Edgecombe” saw this light how I do.
Today at “Edgecombe” the shearing shed is no longer utilised for shearing sheep, instead our Dorper and Dorper cross Damara sheep give birth to lambs in the shed to ensure foxes cannot take them. Dorper sheep are the complete opposite to the Merino breed. The Dorper is only a meat producing sheep and naturally lose any wool they grow (which is not much). The breed is also quite fast growing for production efficiency, therefore we can utilise the sheep for the product of meat faster than a traditional Merino. The reason we have chosen to breed Dorper rather than Merino is they are easier to maintain (no crutching or shearing) and have adapted well to the ever changing climactic conditions of Australia.
Today in 2015 the price of wool is inconsistent and at “Edgecombe” the Dorper is a far more viable option. In saying that, the product of Merino is still highly prized in the fashion industry. The Australian sheep population also still consists predominantly of pure Merino sheep.
The traditional shearing shed is still alive and well in many parts of Australia, while others have been re-purposed. The shearing shed is now no longer just for wool, many unoccupied sheds have become glamorous homes, restaurants and stunning wedding locations. I wonder what some of Australia’s early shearers would think about this, I reckon they would laugh at the thought and then take another swig of their beer.
I think it is stories, such as that of this property that connect us to the past and our history. As I stand at the door of the shearing shed at “Edgecombe” the sun is setting and all is quiet, much like the end of a long day shearing. I know the ghosts of yesterday haunt this place and I hope one-day my own memories of “Edgecombe” also haunt these corrugated walls.
This article was possible thanks to the information about the McLennan family found here at the website Clan MacLennan Association. Note all photographs were captured utilising a Samsung Galaxy S5.
