Woolsheds

The Australian woolshed is quintessential Australian architecture, steeped in our history and folklore. Blown by ferocious seasonal winds, bleached bare by hot summer sun, survivors of flood, pests and fire, these buildings are synonymous with the harshness of the surrounding landscape and a testament to farmers’ ingenuity, courage and resourcefulness.

But recent years have seen times a’changing. The national flock has more than halved from its high of 180 million and this, combined with new health and safety regulations, are closing many sheds. They are fast becoming a silent symbol of our past.

One of Australia’s finest photographers, Andrew Chapman, has embarked on a passionately ambitious project to record woolsheds in every state, capturing the grand as well as the everyday. This is an invaluable historical record of an Australian icon at the end of an era.