THE WAY WE WERE
WESTBROOK WOOLSHED: This photo of the Westbrook Woolshed was taken in 1877 by Heinrich Muller. The woolshed was built in 1851 while Westbrook Station was owned by Henry Hughes. The location of the woolshed was in close proximity to where the Pittsworth Rd currently leaves the Oakey Bypass and the washpool was nearby in Westbrook Creek. During each shearing season, from 85,000 to 90,000 sheep were shorn and the wool bales were transported by bullock wagons to the Oakey Creek railway for shipment (after the railway was constructed through to Dalby in 1868). In early 1899, 9000 acres of Westbrook (including the Homestead) had been purchased from Sir Patrick Jennings by Couper and Ralston, both New Zealanders. The woolshed remained in working order until the early 1900s when Jennings disposed of the last 500 acres of the Westbrook Estate in May, 1902. This section known as the cottage paddock was within a mile of Oakey and contained the woolshed and shearers hut. It was purchased by New Zealand Boer War veteran, Fritz Krull and named Marama (meaning Moon in Maori). He began dairying and converted the shearers hut into a milking shed. During his ownership of the property, the second Oakey Show was held at the woolshed on September 22, 1904. Krull sold out to Patrick Gorman in March, 1908, following which he sold to Shearer Limited in 1911. One portion of the property adjacent to the old dray road from Toowoomba to Dalby, was purchased by Heinrich August Naumann (farmer and well borer) in 1924. He built the old Queenslander house now belonging to Ricky Blinco. In 1925, the remainder of the property was sold to Charles Herbert Gould who still retained the name Marama and the woolshed gradually fell into disrepair.