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WOODLANDS WOOLSCOUR (FORMER)

Location Rocklands Road BALMORAL, Southern Grampians Shire File Number 950 Level Stage 2 study complete

[1/1] 23259 Woodlands Woolscour

Statement of Significance

What is significant?
The site of the former Woodlands Woolscour is located on the north side Rocklands Road, on the bank of the Glenelg River. The site has a piece of equipment, apparently a steam engine located on it, and there is a shallow depression in the ground some distance from the south bank and the paddock where fleeces were laid out to dry. The woolscour was one of the earliest industries in Balmoral, and was associated with Balmoral's first l merchant, Thomas Heap who began the business in the 1840s. . Heap is said to have had an association with the English textile industry and exported wool to Britain. He sold out to Clapham and Wood who continued to export cleaned fleece. Mr. Charles Wood also operated a fellmongery in association with the woolscouring business, and provided employment for upto ten men for six months o the year. Wood represented Balmoral on the Wannon Shire Council and was at one time president of that shire, and was an important local figure, sitting on a number of boards and committees. Charles Wood carried on this business for many years and then his son Herbert L Wood took it over on his father's death in1887. The woolscour and fellmongery ceased operation while in the ownership of a Mr. Steele, in 1893. The site retains a fair degree of integrity as it has been largely undisturbed, and is in fair condition.

How is it significant?
The former Woodlands Woolscour is of historic significance to the township of Balmoral and the Southern Grampians Shire as a Heritage Inventory Site.

Why is it significant?
Woodlands woolscour is of historical significance as it represents the earliest form of industry in Balmoral. It is of further historical significance as a demonstration of a previous way of life which has been lost, and as an example of the ingenuity of early settlers to turn the natural environment to their needs. The site is of further historical significance as an surviving link with the earliest phases of settlement in towns, and how industry could be incorporated into the township.