At the end of May 2025 about 18 or so members of Track Care WA Inc (TCWA) made their way to Woolgorong Homestead, roughly 120km north-east of Mullewa, off the Carnarvon-Mullewa Road in the Golden Outback. Some made their way from participating in a project at Pindathuna (near Yalgoo) the week before. Others travelled in convoy from Perth. We drove from Bunbury, basically straight up the middle, working on the principle that the shortest distance between two points is straight line. The benefit of this strategy was that we passed through Carnamah and were simultaneously surprised and seriously impressed with “The Big Tractor”. If you are ever travelling in that neck of the woods, it is definitely worth checking it out!
This Woolgorong project was to restore as much as possible of the Shearers’ Kitchen. Some years before, a storm had played havoc, ripping the corrugated iron off the verandah and roof. However, the first order of the day was for someone to do a little breaking and entering! One of the 3 doors under the verandah was locked and “Father Time” could not remember the location of the key. We discovered that one of the members is a pretty gun lock-picker, which is worth remembering possibly for future projects.
People set up camp in and around the Homestead. The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) arranged for a portable toilet and hot shower unit to be on site. The Homestead Caretaker, more than ably assisted by one of the Members, got the water heater working in a bathroom attached to visitors’ lodgings that we then able to use. Talk about being spoilt!
Under the guidance of Frank (the Project Leader), we all got cracking. Some people started sorting and laying out all the timber, for ease of identifying and handling as the project progressed. Others made short work of removing the old rafters and beams and stabilising the structure. Old fridges and furniture had to be taken outside so that people could easily walk around inside, which was no easy task given the weight of the old fridges. A group set-to clearing and cleaning the old wood stove and oven, and cleaning and sorting out the pantry room off the kitchen. New timbers had to be measured and cut, lifted into place and attached. Where possible, existing timbers were salvaged, screws and nails removed and, again, sorted for future use.
By the end of Day 1, amazing progress had been made which, I have come to understand and appreciate, is the norm and ethos of all TCWA Members. That afternoon’s 5:00pm pre-dinner drinks saw us gathered around a campfire, looking over at a building that, for the first time in a long time, started to look like a building again, instead of a ruin. The “Pindathuna crew” introduced the rest of us to the “wooden spoon” award. The criteria for being awarded this honour by the current holder was all-encompassing: it could be for doing something amazing, something left of centre, something unexpected or something that was just plain weird! As the days progressed, the wooden spoon was passed to the two “roofies”, someone who used their long legs to clamber over a workhorse (instead of simply walking around it), someone else who actually managed to read a tape measure (whilst others were having a “senior moment”) and the Members who led the group on an expedition to the Woolgorong Outcamp (more on that later) without the benefit of a working UHF radio!
To be continued….
