[1][3] The Kamilaroi had a reputation as fierce warriors who defended their familial hunting grounds from other intruding bands and who also actively resisted European settlement for many years.
[1][4] The opening up of the Upper Hunter and Liverpool Plains area was facilitated in the first instance by explorers Benjamin Singleton and John Howe in 1818 and again in 1821.
[1][6] The Australian Agricultural Company (AACo) was formed under an act of British Parliament in 1824 as a result of the recommendations of Commissioner Bigge.
Bigge recommended that private investment and enterprise, possibly in the growing of fine wool, was a crucial measure in the viable future of the Colony of NSW.
[1][7]: 22–30 In the first years of its operation the AACo struggled to establish its ambitious enterprise and this was not helped by the fact that the land at Port Stephens was not particularly suitable for raising sheep.
[1][7]: 52–59 Development of the pastoral lands at Warrah was slow due to the shortage of available water on the run and the downturn in the demand for wool during the 1840s.
The new sheep were pastured at West Warrah and an overseer was stationed at Windy Point (The Newcastle Chronicle and Hunter River District News 21 October 1865).
At this time the AACo bought into the debate, offering both Frederick Wolseley and rival inventor, John Suckling the opportunity to install 25 machines each.
Nevertheless, the experiment marked Warrah Woolshed as one of the first mechanised sheds in NSW and Australia (Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners Advocate 9 June 1888).Wolseley's successful shears were first installed at Dunlop Station on the Darling River and at Toganmain on the Murrumbidgee near Hay.
[1] Associated with the woolshed from soon after its construction in 1863 is the bake house which still stands and adjacent barrack accommodation for shearers which no longer exists.
The core of the station's earliest homestead and associated buildings lies in ruins on the adjacent property – Warrah Ridge which was subdivided and sold off early in the 20th century.
[1] The pressure for closer settlement brought to bear on Warrah Station at the turn of the 20th century and the eastern part of the run around Willow Tree was subdivided in 1908.
In 1969 the Warrah homestead was sold and the company interests in the area comprised about 33,000 acres on Windy Station in the north west corner of the original grant.
Despite modifications to the original sweating pens, western shearing board and wool room the Warrah Woolshed maintains a relatively high degree of integrity as do the other historic buildings in the precinct.
[1] The state significance of the item is enhanced through its association with the AACo and its achievements, the first private enterprise to engage in fine wool growing in NSW.
[1] In addition the state heritage significance of the woolshed is demonstrated in its great potential to provide information on the operation of a large pastoral head station and technical developments in the fine wool industry.
)[1] East Warrah Woolshed was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 10 August 2018 having satisfied the following criteria.
The East Warrah Station Woolshed's state heritage significance may be enhanced through its direct associations with the AACo and its objective of developing a fine wool industry in NSW.
[1] The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.
The East Warrah Woolshed may be of state heritage significance for it has the potential to demonstrate the development and operation of a large pastoral head station during the mid to late 19th and 20th centuries.