OUTBACK STATIONS
The Big Shed
The concrete and iron monolith on Reola Station is the Opera House of Australian shearing sheds
Story: Kelly Penfold
There
is perhaps no greater theatre than the shearing shed - that unparalleled
performance of men in blue singlets skilfully transforming wool-laden sheep
to bare white, ready for the harsh reality of another year of production;
the bit parts played by shed hands wielding their brooms and throwing soft
fleeces; the intensity of classers making on-the-spot quality decisions that
just have to be correct; the background music of whistling and whooping from
the yards, and the startled bleatings of sheep brought in from a distant
paddock for their matinee performance.
While some of the sheds resemble music halls, the concrete and iron monolith on Reola Station in outback NSW is the Opera House of Australian shearing sheds.
Thought to be the largest in the country, this 16-stand giant is also one of the newest, built in 1990 by Reola's custodians - Graham and Deidre Brown and their four children.
In
harsh times for woolgrowing, the Big Shed underscores the Brown's commitment
to wool and sheep, western New South Wales' lifeblood.
Every July the Big Shed takes centre stage when a team of 32 shearers,
shed hands and supporting crew from all over Australia and New Zealand descend
on Reola for a three week long season that shears 52,00 Merino ewes, lambs
and wethers, and produces 1600 bales of wool destined for Sydney auction
rooms. 
Full story Issue 1, October-November 1998
