| Emus live in the Bush around Blackall |
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| Digi Photo Animation By Marguerite 2005 |
This Barcoo River town might have been named in honour of Queensland’s second Governor, Samuel Blackall,
but another slice of Australiana is infinitely more important to the locals. From their viewpoint, legendary shearer Jackie
Howe inscribed the town’s name in the folklore annals in 1892 when, in a local shed, he hand-sheared 321 sheep in seven
hours and 40 minutes - a world record which was not broken until electric shears were introduced in 1950.
Blackall also boasts the only woolscour in Australia where hot, artesian bore water was converted to steam
to drive the factory's engines and wool dryers. Australia's original black stump - a petrified tree stump in the grounds behind
the local school - was the centre point round which the town was built in the 1880s
| Miners Cottage Rubyvale Sapphire Mines |
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| Digi Art Photograph by Marguerite Copyright 2005 |
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