In general in this district, the choice was to wash the sheep, and a number of sheep washes were constucted. James Hamilton of Bringalbert, in this border country, wrote of the process. He was about 16 at the time, and he describes:
“… it was shearing time, my brother being over the board and I at the sheep wash. The latter was a most important place on the station in the early days. Greasy wool being so little in demand, we continued to wash our sheep right up to the end of the sixties. Badly washed wool, too, meant a loss, so with six men to help me I usually took my place there for the season. We had put through 35,000 to 40,000 sheep, and the time occupied was five to six weeks, so it can be seen that it was a busy time. One day a great thunderstorm came on. We had finished the flock for a second time, except for about three hundred, which had only been through once, when the storm caught us. I took my place with the other men on the stage, which was about 18 inches wide, the throwers threw in about fifteen or sixteen sheep, while the yarders kept the yard full. Hardly a word was spoken, and everybody worked with great energy, as we all felt in great danger in such a storm.”
Pioneering Days in Western Victoria, by JC Hamilton, published in 1913.