Glencoe In 1844, just eight years after the South Australia Colony was proclaimed, Robert and Edward Leake headed south for the Rivoli Bay area, moving their sheep from Kapunda after transporting them from Tasmania. Many sheep had perished on the sea voyage. The brothers lived as squatters in tents, while their flock increased from 600 to 7,000. They considered the north was too dry and so set off south for greener pastures. They arrived at a lake (later Lake The Glencoe Woolshed 08 8180 1710 Email: Phone 08 8388 4844 Mobile 0418 446 444 Fax Leake), with their farm overseer, John McIntyre, and set up a camp of stringy bark huts and a woolshed. The local indigenous Boandik people PROOF SHEET Glencoe Historic Woolshed were recruited to wash the sheep prior to shearing and do stockwork. They were paid with meat, flour and sugar and they set up a large camp by the lake. A year later, the Leake brothers made a land claim of 176 square miles, encompassing Lake Leake, Mount Burr, Mount Gambier and Mount Schank areas. They moved to higher ground, 6 kms away. In 1851 Robert married Ruth Hickmer and built Frontier House. He was industrious and impacient with his brother. The partnership was disolved and Edward retired to Portland. Just five years later Robert died. Edward inherited the DATE property and he and his wife Letitia moved into Frontier House. BLADES OF GLENCOE A small settlement with a General Store / Bistro, a hall and a giant woolshed. TOURIST INFORMATION DISTRIBUTORS AUSTRALIA PO Box 38, Balhannah, South Australia 5242 [email protected] SHEARATHON IS HELD ANNUALLY Stay tuned for dates CODE 364 In 1863 Edward built Glencoe Woolshed. It was architecturally designed (TS Gore) and he also built a state of the art shearers quarters (now Glencoe community hall) with partitions between each bunk, books to read and a long table in the middle for dining. Shearers usually slept on woolshed floors, so this accommodation was very luxurious. Glencoe woolshed opened with a ball and 200 people URGENT APPROVAL REQUIRED attended. The woolshed in busy times operated with around 100 workers, with shearers competing to shear the most sheep a day. The maximum flock size the Leake’s maintained was 55,000 sheep. HERE IS A REPRESENTATION OF YOUR ADVERT TO APPEAR IN THE SOUTHERN OCEAN ROAD Edward died 4 years later and the estate reverted to the Tasmanian family to manage until his daughter came of age. Glencoe woolshed was never Please check: • Names & Addresses • Telephone Numbers • Spelling. Please be so kind as to send by return mail for any alterations to your proof. We will assume proof is OK if not received by us within 7 days. It is important that this be done so as to avoid the chance of your space appearing incorrectly. PLEASE TICK BOX plant. Blade shearing still occurred in the early 20th century. As other smaller, local sheds were modernised with a mechanised shearing Proof O.K. Changes Required (please inform) mechanised and the Leake family farm was broken up, little use was made of the woolshed and was used by local farmers as a storage facility. It deteriorated over time. It came to be in the possession of local farmer, Scotty SIGNED Kennedy, who donated it to the SA National Trust in 1970. Initial government funds replaced the roof and windows and National Trust continues to care for this unique building. GLENCOE HISTORIC WOOLSHED The woolshed is a fascinating look into the past when thousands of sheep were shorn by a huge shearing team. This unique and significant building with its huge catherdral beams is in original condition as a blade shearing shed in the small township of Glencoe. Enjoy a self-tour by collecting the access key from the Glencoe Post Office and Bistro. a GLENCOE (turn off the Southern Ports Highway, between Millicent and Mount Gambier) Click to watch: Blades of Glencoe on Youtube More to Explore www.exploringaustralia.com.au 49
