It was the end of an era at Warrnambool's livestock exchange on Wednesday with about 500 people attending the last ever sale at the site.
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Sadness, shock and devastation were the words on the lips of those who were at the yards to witness the final sale.
The decision by agents to move their business to Hamilton and Mortlake in the new year signalled the end for the Caramut Road site six months ahead of its planned demise.
Their decision comes after a 4-3 vote of councillors in November to close the site.
Warrnambool Stock Agents Association president Jack Kelly said people had come from as far as Gippsland, Millicent and Harrow for the sale.
He said he hadn't had much time to think about how he felt about the closure and his move to Hamilton and Mortlake saleyards.
"It's been taken out of our hands, I just said 'we've got to put our heads down and give people some hope. Hope is four letters but it means a lot'," he said.
Mr Kelly said the decision to move his business to Hamilton and Mortlake came after feedback from clients.
"People didn't want to be putting money back into the council," he said. "We just had to move."
Mr Kelly said some of his clients were "very upset" with what had happened. "But we've got to move on to the next chapter," he said.
Association secretary Peter Finnigan said it had been a hard day.
"It's a tough day for Warrnambool - for the agents, the farmers, the buyers and everybody involved in the industry," Mr Finnigan said.
"You just move on. People have made a decision that's out of our control."
Mr Finnigan said Wednesday's sale was great "as usual".
"It was a huge crowd. It just shows there is huge demand for the saleyards to be part of Warrnambool," he said.
"But that decision has been made and we had loyal support right up to the end. It's a credit to the farmers and agents to keep supporting right up to the end."
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Katrina Lovell
Katrina Lovell is a senior journalist at The Standard who covers council news and human interest stories.
Katrina Lovell is a senior journalist at The Standard who covers council news and human interest stories.
