THE shearing shed at Acacia Downs near Muttaburra protrudes above its surrounding acacia thicket like a supernatural structure, and feels like a prop in a Mad Max movie up close – wool bales thump down onto the ground from an opening in the high floor above, while shorn sheep take a rollercoaster ride down chutes on either side.
Subscribe now for unlimited access to all our agricultural news
across the nation
or signup to continue reading
A walk up the steps to the shearing board offers 360 degree views of the surrounding countryside, looking lush after rain in early March.
According to David Fysh, the building once served as the meatworks in Hughenden back in the 1880s and was brought to Acacia Downs during the first World War.
“It suits us, being so high – we can fit a lot of wool and sheep underneath,” he said. “The shearers reckon it’s cool to work in too.”
When the Queensland Country Life called in, the annual shearing was coming to an end after six weeks, interrupted by rain, and 20,000 sheep were nearly all back in their paddocks.
David said the sheep had cut 2kg an acre and at $8/kg, he said that made it a productive business to be in.
“Our wool cuts this year have been better than for the past couple of seasons,” he said.
“There was early rain last year but the feed grew big and rank.”
He and his wife Sarah have been at Acacia Downs since 1984 and prefer to shear in March to fit in with the lambing program.
Lambs are due to drop through April and May.
A March shearing also gets the wool off before feathertop seeds mature in April.
Longreach contractor Robert Tutaki and his team were looking forward to completing the shed.
With seven stands operating, Acacia Downs is one of the bigger sheds in his run that covers Hughenden, Muttaburra, Winton and Longreach areas.
