Going, going ... gone!

It was the end of an era when agents, buyers and sellers gathered at the old Katanning Regional Saleyards for the final sheep sale of 13,000 sheep on Wednesday, May 21.

The sale was a chance for many to reflect on the decades of history before a new chapter began yesterday, when Premier Colin Barnett opened the new $25 million facility.

Rod Bushell started working at the old yards 39 years ago as a casual worker at 21 years of age, moving up to become a contractor for agents and then manager, a role he has held for the past 12 years.

“It’s an industry we have done well by, it has a big input in the community, in one sale there would be 100 people working at the yards,” he said.

“It hasn’t changed a lot, the biggest difference would be the different types of breeds we now have and animal welfare is also a lot better.”

The new undercover saleyards will also be welcome protection from the sometimes unpredictable Great Southern weather.

Mr Bushell recalled the yards flooding in the early 1980s when Katanning received 8 inches of rain in a day.

Summer heatwaves and even a small amount of snow has made some sales challenging.

And there continued to be some surprises in the lead-up to the last sale.

“I’ve seen a lot of firsts in the last week, there was a sheep in the office for example,” Mr Bushell laughed.

Katanning farmer Peter Kerin worked as an agent for Elders at the first sale on December 7, 1972.

“As we were starting from scratch we had no idea of the potential numbers that might be presented, how much staff we would require or the logistics of handling and drafting large numbers, and penning in yards that were designed for store sales, not trade sales,” he said.

“I still recall that first sale we had sheep everywhere, many still to be drafted, many cards to be attached, the sale about to start at 1pm.”

According to Mr Kerin, there has been very few years since the trade sales started that there has not been totals in excess of one million sheep sold through the yards.