The Finest Wool in the World
Ercildoune’s primary business was the production of some of the highest quality wool the world has ever seen. The Learmonth brothers pioneered the technique of washing the sheep before shearing in order to improve the quality of the wool. This system proved to be extremely effective and in turn, succeeded in increasing their profits. On the advice of wool expert Thomas Shaw, they also devised a selective breeding program whereby they maintained the pure merino bloodline and introduced sheep from a number of celebrated flocks.
Sir Samuel Wilson then standardized these procedures and produced an annual report of the results and the sixth one highlighted the role of the celebrated stud ram Golden Fleece. Sir Alan Currie discarded the washing program but retained the selective breeding program and under his management, Ercildoune continued to produce excellent wool.
Restoration Grants and Heritage Works
Even though John was financially responsible for the majority of the work, we did apply for and receive a grant, to help pay for the work needed to the extremely dilapidated Shearing Shed, from Heritage Victoria and that became the next project after the Homestead. Major Currie states in his notes on Ercildoune that the original blackwood timber eight stand Shearing Shed had been built at their Buninyong property where the brothers first settled, before moving their operations to Ercildoune, and the trunks of trees had been used as stumps and the slats had been made from timber saplings. Around sixty thousand sheep were herded there annually to be shorn, so they must have really been attached to that shed, as they apparently went to the trouble to dismantle it and numbered each piece in order for it to be transported some thirty kilometres to be rebuilt at Ercildoun.
Of course the Scottish people have a bit of a reputation for being frugal too, and when I looked up why Scottish people have a reputation for being a ‘bit tight’ with their money, one person stated that well into the 19th century Scotland was a poor, backward country whose people largely survived on oats, cabbage and peas, with some herring and potato if they were lucky. We ended up replacing all of the battens after the stumps had been replaced by the hardworking local Steve, with wood that we had milled on the property from many of the dead cypress that had died due to the drought. Remnants of the old sheepwash were scattered around the place in various locations. This process involved having water pumped to a boiler that stored and heated the water in an elevated cistern.
The soaking vat could hold about fifteen hundred gallons and after a few minutes in the vat, the sheep would swim about ten metres along a gangway to a dripping yard where they would then be sent down a chute to a spouting area in the washpool. The men could wash around twelve hundred sheep a day at a cost of one penny per head, and good money was made as the washed fleeces sold for two shillings at the London sales.
The Gatehouse and Outbuildings
The granite Gatehouse, or gardener’s cottage, underwent significant renovations, without rebuilding what was possibly a kitchen laundry area no longer in existence. The Cottage behind the Homestead also received a makeover and had to have some huge cracks fixed and drainage put in around this building. The stone-cobbled Stables and Loft, with assorted rooms attached and an add-on garage area for motor cars, were all repointed and rebuilt internally, and the rooms added on beside the original stables in granite at a later date, may have been used as a gunroom or even a gaol as rumour has it. Up the road to the left of the back lake was the rather ornate Gothic Manager’s House, and not far from this was another granite outbuilding called the Old Men’s Quarters, that could have originally been a stable block.
On the other side of the lake were the Shearers’ Quarters, with a large freestanding meat safe on stumps located nearby, then a School House and the Rabbiters’ Cottage, one of the oldest buildings on the property. The rabbiter was said to have a pack of over twenty dogs at one stage, so there were dog kennels located a bit further up the hill and five thousand rabbits were said to have been killed at Ercildoune in 1885. Major Currie had six trappers who, in the depression era, caught around five tonnes of rabbits a day that were then sent to Melbourne to be sold for meat. Hares were very destructive and had ringbarked many of the deodars in the two kilometre driveway, and they apparently do this when they’re searching for moisture. The saying “Mad As A March Hare” came about as the males look like they’re boxing each other in order to impress the females during mating season.
At the height of operations, the shearing season could require fifty shearers, forty men washing and forty rouseabout men, so that’s a lot of accommodation to provide and mouths to feed. Sir Samuel Wilson also employed over one hundred workers, ten indoor staff and seven gardeners. No doubt there were once specific areas to keep Jersey cows for milking, numerous bullocks and possibly some pigs. We didn’t complete the renovation on the Gothic Manager’s House as the damage was just too great, and there had also been a fire in the kitchen area at one stage. We were given a ballpark figure of $300,000 by one of the builders, so put that little project on the backburner.
But all leaking roofs, gutters and downpipes were repaired or replaced on every building or structure, and truckloads of the vegetation that had self-seeded near these outbuildings was also removed. Ivy had been vigorously growing on the South and East walls of the Homestead, but its stems were now very thick, and it was consequently removed to prevent further damage to the mortar.
Weekends of Hard Labour
John and I also worked as hard as time allowed most weekends, in order to complete as many jobs as possible on the “to do” list that we created on the roadtrip home after every visit. But the final result couldn’t have been achieved without an amazing team of people headed by Dianne Gow, who had her own interior decorating company called Harlequin Designs in Ballarat. Dianne had completed many design projects over the years and was instrumental in advising and guiding the people working on this project and coupled with John’s eagle eye for detail added into the mix, we naturally ended up with a satisfying result.
She had twice been engaged by previous owners to manage the project, but this time she managed to get over the finishing line for one of her ‘all-time favourite makeovers’ and I guess that it ended up being a case of third time lucky. Each room had accumulated many layers of paint or had been wallpapered several times over the years, so she scraped back the walls often finding some amazing and quite challenging colour schemes. When the hallway was prepared for painting a six-sided star was uncovered. We didn’t ever find any clues as to why it was put there, or if it was of Scottish or Irish origin, but I’d like to think it was the Star of Creation with the six points being attributes of power, wisdom, majesty, love, mercy and justice.
Gradually each room had any cracks repaired and was given a fresh coat of paint, and Dianne chose the appropriate style of carpet needed. Curtains added the final touches to each room, and Dianne arranged for many lovely old worlde pictures that we’d chosen from an amazing catalogue to be sent off for framing. We bought some huge rugs for the Drawing Room and then filled up the Homestead once again with mainly antique furniture. We spent many a happy hour hunting through many Antique shops to find pieces that would do the Homestead justice, and many of the really special pieces were obtained through XXXX Antiques in Castlemaine.
John received a deer head mount as a special gift from some work colleagues and it was stated that a Sambar deer head was given to Captain Wilson as a gift around 1908.