SUNNYSIDE WOOL SCOUR

In 1867 Haworth constructed a substantial building on the site to house his fellmongering and wool washing and activities. The lower floor of bluestone accommodates the scour line and sweating sheds for skins, with the upper levels of timber under a corrugated iron roof, used for drying. Substantial portions of this structure remain. The river was used in part of the washing process. The brick and timber drying house to the south may also have been built in this period.

The existing brick chimney dates from the ownership of Haworth's son, John, between 1899 and 1904. From 1904 on there were a succession of owners, and the various timber sheds to the east were constructed at different stages during this period to accommodate processes such as drying, sweating and storage. The northern skillion was built before, and the western skillion after, 1937.

Much of the existing scouring equipment, including the locally produced J. Dyson and Son scour vats, was installed in the period between James Fowler's purchase of the property in 1945 and his death in 1969. Remaining equipment including the locally produced Humble and Sons squeeze rollers and wool feeder, the rotary steam dryer and the dag crusher, contribute substantially to an understanding of the site. The existing boiler and boiler house date from the 1960s.

How is it significant?
The Sunnyside Wool Scour is of historical, scientific (technological) and social significance to the State of Victoria.

Why is it significant?
The Sunnyside Wool Scour is historically and socially important at a State level as the only remaining business associated with the major nineteenth century wool processing works located at the Barwon breakwater. The siting of this industrial centre is significant as it reflects environmental and community issues associated with activities which produce a noxious by-product. The Sunnyside Wool Scour went through an important period of development during the time of its ownership by John Haworth who was a noted Breakwater resident. The Sunnyside Wool Scour is a rare example of a wool scouring establishment whose operations date from as early as the 1850s and which is represented by comparatively intact structural and mechanical features.

The Sunnyside Wool Scour is of scientific (technological) importance as it is an extraordinary example of an important nineteenth century industrial activity. There are significant remains of the wool scour building constructed in 1867, complemented by in-situ plant and equipment which reflect the wool scouring process. The site also incorporates a rare example of a decorated nineteenth century industrial chimney stack which includes the insignia of its owner: the initials 'JH' referring to John Haworth.

The Sunnyside Wool Scour has significance for its archaeological potential relating to the possible river-front archaeological remains which could provide evidence of the earlier non-mechanised scouring process. Significant machinery is retained on-site and this plant demonstrates the talents of two prominent local engineering firms, Humble and Sons and J. Dyson and Sons, and reflects the specialist expertise they developed in the manufacture of wool processing equipment. The site of the Sunnyside Wool Scour has been utilised as both a wool scour and a fellmongery and has undergone a series of developments, notably reflecting the advances in technology from a hand operated process, in which the wool scouring was done at the river bank using a pot stick method, to the construction of substantial structures and the implementation of steam driven machinery. More recently the site has been used for the purposes of wool sorting and storing.

Group

Farming and Grazing

Category

Woolscour