Shear Outback

Shear Outback is a museum and interpretive centre in Hay, New South Wales, dedicated to Australia's wool and shearing industry. Located on Murray Street near the Murrumbidgee River, it incorporates the Australian Shearers Hall of Fame and a relocated historic woolshed. The centre presents interactive exhibits, shearing demonstrations, and collections documenting pastoral history, shearers' lives, and the economic importance of wool to regional Australia.

Visitors can expect a large museum complex set on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River, comprising modern exhibition galleries, the Australian Shearers Hall of Fame, and the relocated Murray Downs woolshed. Inside are interactive displays on shearing history, wool handling, tools and machinery, photographs and memorabilia. The site includes outdoor areas, a cafe overlooking the river, a gift shop, and spaces for guided tours and occasional shearing demonstrations.

Shear Outback was developed to preserve and interpret the history of Australia's wool and shearing industry, which underpinned the economy of Hay and the Riverina. It incorporates the Murray Downs woolshed, originally built in the 19th century, and houses the Australian Shearers Hall of Fame established to recognise the contribution of shearers to rural Australia.

The centre celebrates the cultural heritage of shearing and pastoral life in outback New South Wales, documenting the skills, traditions and community life associated with wool production and its central role in Australian rural identity.