We must have spent a good few hours looking at photos and videos of the centenary, then had lunch in the hall, before heading off on our tour of the area.
Then we drove to "Nara", blocks 1 and 2 of the 1967 subdivision, and now owned by John Benham. In what was called "The washpool paddock" when it was part of Warrah Station.
The Washpool
was the Warrah sheep wash, used in the 1860's to 1880's. The sheep were washed before shearing. The washpool employed 40 men for weeks on end during the washing.
There are good descriptions of how it worked in
stories in the "News Archives" section.
http://www.warrah1912subdivision.com/103183756
Or the governers
visit.
http://www.warrah1912subdivision.com/103183754
The last time the Warrah washpool
was used to wash sheep was in 1885. As woollen manufacturers made increasing use of the grease which was removed during washing, the advantages of washing as compared with shearing in the grease lessened. Basically, wool became more valuable
with the grease left in, for the lanolin, so it made no sense and was not economical to wash the wool anymore after 1885 when wool manufacturers started scouring wool in scouring plants.