Roamin’ at Jondaryan Woolshed Museum QLD

The Woolshed at Jondaryan, Queensland is over 150 years old – one of the oldest in Australia’s history, and also one of the largest.  The story of this heritage listed woolshed began in 1840 when the property was called Gundarnian, which means ‘Place of the Fire Cloud’ in the local Jarowair dialect.

The property changed hands in 1845 when the original owner was forced to sell due to the recession. The new owner changed the name of the station to Jondaryan.

In 1847 the original shearing shed was built but was burned down about two years later by striking shearers who were angry about their conditions and wages. 

Construction of the Woolshed that still stands today commenced in 1859 and was completed in 1861, with shearing taking place in the new facility later that same year. By 1873, 250,000 sheep were being shorn each year during spring and summer. 

The Woolshed’s infrastructure continued being used until the mid 1930s, then shearing continued in a continuously reducing capacity until the breakup of the station in late 1945. 

Not many locals of the district knew the history of the Woolshed even though it was also a significant part of the local landscape. Then, in 1972 the local school was due to celebrate its centenary and were looking for a venue to hold a grand ball. The wool room within the Woolshed was suggested and much work was done to level the floors an replace the boards before it was safe to use. Over 1000 people filled the wool room on the night of the ball, and for most of these people, it was their first glimpse inside the old Woolshed. Many of the guests were overcome by the atmosphere and the history of this stately old monument to Australia’s history…this was the start of the desire to see the Woolshed preserved for the future.

Today, along with the Woolshed, a living museum of historical buildings is located on this site for visitors to explore. Situated right beside the Woolshed is the Jondaryan Woolshed Caravan Park, with a good number of both powered and unpowered sites, as well as cabins. It is certainly worth the stay here to allow more time to explore the Woolshed and other buildings. This was a nice place to stay, we would certainly recommend it, and would stay there again ourselves. The caravan park boasts some beautiful camping spots right by Oakey Creek – for dry weather camping only.

View our YouTube video on this historic place: https://youtu.be/P0Q_w0f3lgU