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Yay for The Sheep’s Back Museum!
Looking for a family friendly day out in the Naracoorte area of South Australia? Tired of going to museums where there’s a lack of information on sheep and their magical fleece?
We hear ewe!
The Sheep’s Back Museum maintain amazing galleries, showcasing the history of South Eastern Australia so that you and your family can have a woolly great visit.
The local Council’s Visitor Information Centre, and a small gift shop are also located in the main museum building – so you’re spoiled for choice with the shear number of things to see and do!
So don’t be baa-shful! Head to Naracoorte for some sheepish fun!
Price we Paid (March 2024): Adults $10.00 each. Concession holders $8.00 each. Children $4.00 each. Family (2 adults and 2 children, or one adult and 3 children) — $25.00
The Sheep’s Back Museum is open Monday to Friday 9 til 5, and on weekends and public holidays from 10 til 4. The museum is run entirely by friendly volunteers, who will provide a map and information sheet to help guide you through all the different areas. The small cost of entry is well worth it, in our opinion, to help maintain the exhibits.
Don’t be deceived by the outside of the visitor centre – this museum takes a few pointers from the TARDIS and the space is a lot bigger on the inside! Some of the areas you’ll explore include:
We were blown away by the model train set up in the first gallery – it’s fantastic! Explore rail travel in the South East – in miniature! I think we can all agree that everything’s more fun when there’s a small silo to marvel at.
Rail transport from Naracoorte to Mount Gambier and Kingston made a huge difference to trade and social life in the district, and this display will make a huge difference to your joy levels.
Peer into the tiny carriages, and with just a push of a button – send the train from Naracoorte to Mt Gambier and back again! What a hoot! Or should we say, a ‘toot-toot’! … *coughs* … no, we probably shouldn’t.
Onwards!
As you walk around, there’s lots to learn about the shearing process – from ‘skirting’ and ‘classing’ to the pressing and transport! See how many sheep you can count!
The Hynam Woolshed was built in the early 1850s, and was one of the first big stone sheds in the Limestone Coast region.
While the shed is empty now, with only scattered wool and memorabilia to remind us of the work involved – it was originally designed for teams of up to 24 blade shearers!
As the shearers worked, rouseabouts would remove the shorn wool from the shearer’s work space, taking away all the stained and matted wool of the belly. Gross! The rest of the fleece was shorn so it remained in one piece, and was taken to the wool table and thrown out so it spread open. Magical!
Here the wool was ‘skirted‘ and the dirty fragments removed, along with the thin and dusty wool of the shoulders. Another rouseabout would be busy sweeping the fragments of wool or ‘locks’ from the floor and collecting them in a separate bale for later pressing.
As you walk around the old stone flour mill – built in the 1860’s – you can glimpse scenes from the earliest European settlements to present day!
Rooms are on display with a view into the daily work and life on a sheep farm. It’s fun looking at all of the old containers and appliances used – are there any that you still use today? Take a peek into kitchens, living rooms and the telephone exchange!
We loved all the mannequins – just the right blend of creepy and historic. They all looked like they’ve lived a good life, and I’m sure wool’d love to meet ewe.
Did we mention that visiting The Sheep’s Back Museum gives you licence to use as many sheep related puns as you like? It does! It woolly woolly does!
Step back in time and check out the history of the region’s rural schools at the Kybybolite School Building – not a laptop in sight! They learned lessons from ‘books’ and ‘sheep’.
Snoop in the Hynam Post Office – the nerve centre of the Hynam community for more than 100 years! How did the sheep ewes the telephone? No idea – but it was probably a fleece of cake!
I’m sure that the false-human pretending to be a telephone operator in this display, would be just as mystified by your mobile phone as you are by the telephone exchange!
Making a phone call ye olden days was like living in a nest of wires. You’d pick up the receiver and be greeted by a friendly operator who’d say, “Number, of sheep please?” This operator was the gatekeeper, connecting your line to a central switchboard brimming with jacks and plugs. Each plug and wire brought voices together across towns and cities! Remarkable!
Don’t be surprised if you leave The Sheep’s Back Museum with a renewed love for yesteryear and a fondness for woollen merchandise. There’s a lot here to get excited about, and – like any historical village or attraction – only gets better with age.
We can’t recommend it enough. Collect your grandma, your best friend, and some loved ones who love learning about fleece – and run to Naracoorte for a sheepish experience that you’ll be talking about for 100 years.
You’re welcome. Sheep out.
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