The Holding Pen

A small set of photographs taken on a Box Brownie in July 1955 — the pressed bales, the long iron-roofed shed against a pale winter sky, a sixteen-year-old's first look at a working woolshed. Jan Smith sent them to us recently. They were taken by her late husband Arthur, who got his start that winter at Toganmain.

There's a particular kind of knowledge that only comes from a life lived outdoors - from years of reading country, moving mobs across vast distances, and knowing your animals the way most people know their neighbours. Frank Lees has that knowledge in spades, and recently he shared some of it with us before heading home to Queensland.

We caught up with David Houston, his wife Coleen and daughter Lani during our recent Open Day. David is the grandson of James Houston, whose story begins at Toganmain in 1884.

Ray Eade was fifteen years old when he first walked into Toganmain woolshed. That was April 1965. Sixty years later, he walked back in — and the memories came with him.

Every now and then, you come across something that makes you rethink what wool can do. A conversation with Michelle Dalzell from Michell did exactly that.

Newsletter

April 2026

toganmain.org.au

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Volunteers, old and new, please take special note of the "Volunteers Needed" section below.

Read more: News Update April 26

Every now and then, something lands in the inbox that makes you stop, smile, and appreciate just how deeply people care about this place. This week, it was a message from longtime supporter and friend of Toganmain, Ralph Greenham.

Family history research has a way of delivering surprises, and Donna Outtrim's discovery about her great-grandmother Julia Lutton Morison is a perfect example of how official records don't always match family memory - and sometimes there's a very practical reason why.

Family stories have a way of linking us to the deeper rhythms of a place, offering glimpses into the lives of people who shaped it long before our time. One such story comes from Pam McGann, whose family ancestors were part of the Riverina’s early pastoral years.

Occasionally, a piece of history arrives that captures the voice of the past more intimately than any official record. One such treasure is a letter written in 1899 at Toganmain Station by Jim O’Connor, a shearer and farmer whose words reveal a deeply personal view of life in the Riverina at the close of the 19th century.

Here's a surprise! A song all about Toganmain. Take a listen and follow along with lyrics below.

David Lewis has shared a couple of stories with us — one about the dogs that worked the shed with him, and another about the quiet presence of veterans who passed through Toganmain. But he's since been back in touch with a few more memories, and I reckon they're worth including.

Darren O'Loughlin recalled one of the last shearings held at Toganmain — back in August 2016.

Every time someone adds their name to the list, it’s a quiet reminder of just how far Toganmain reaches.

I was going through the latest newsletter sign-ups the other day, and what struck me wasn’t just the number — it was the stories.

Read more: A Long Line at Toganmain

Ian Rowles reached out with a family story tied to Toganmain. His father-in-law, Gordon Charles “Charlie” Croker, was born in 1907 in Crookwell, NSW, and came from a family of sheep farmers.

Kay Turner contributed an invaluable visual archive to the Toganmain restoration.

In 1991, Michael Grambeau worked at Toganmain as a rouseabout.

Robert and Kaye Emmett, from Horsham, Victoria, recalled a weekend spent working at Toganmain in August.

This story came through Tracy McLaughlin, who’s been quietly helping us gather names, photos, and memories in all sorts of ways.

Tom Lockhart, now 88 and living in Tasmania, once worked as a shearer at the Toganmain Woolshed in the late 1950s.

Ted Speed and Annie Kessell, from Kangaroo Island, made a return visit to Toganmain while on holiday.

From diary of P. J. C. Wallace, who worked at Toganmain in 1928. He was aged 62 (had served in the Boer War and recently retired from the army but still had dependent children, so needed to keep working).

Flash Jack from Gundagai, Banjo Paterson, 1905

In the early 1990s the Twynam Group purchased Toganmain. The Twynam Group's main interest was in large scale cropping, hence the woolshed was left unused and unloved.