Stories from the shearing sheds

The rich history, ritual, characters, hard work and competition of a core farming activity

Top shearers are elite athletes who these days set world records and travel the world with their skill. Shearing gangs are quintessential rural New Zealand, and in the course of a 10 or 12 hour day, with sweat dripping, they play a pivotal role in supplying a wonderful, renewable fibre for export and local use.

Collection items

  • Tales from New Zealand's shearing sheds

    5 Apr 2010

    Hazel Riseborough with tales from New Zealand's shearing sheds. Audio

  • Shearing champ Te Atakura Crawford

    7 Oct 2013

    In 2013 Te Atakura Crawford was the first the woman to win the senior shearing section at the New Zealand Merino Shearing and Woolhandling Championships. Te Atakura Crawford - who's lighter than the… Audio

  • The road to glory is filled with pain and hard slog

    19 Dec 2014

    Richard Welch was part of the team which set the five stand lamb shearing record at this time last year. The road to glory is filled with pain and hard slog. Audio

  • History of the Golden Shears

    9 Mar 2009

    Doug Laing's book traces the first fifty years of the Golder Shears competition. Audio

  • Golden Shears

    26 Mar 2010

    The Golden Shears has been the feature event on the New Zealand shearing calendar for 50 years. Audio

  • Young Gun

    2 Apr 2010

    David Gordon is just 13 and is the youngest person to have won the novice competition at the Golden Shears. Audio

  • Champion shearer 'Mickey' McDonald

    3 Dec 2010

    King Country farmer Alan McDonald is a former world champion shearer. He has also held a number of shearing records. Audio

  • Castlepoint Remembers

    9 Mar 2012

    Castlepoint Station and Castlepoint lighthouse hosted visitors and locals to re-enact the old days when sheep were driven down the beach and wool was loaded by bullock cart onto lighters and then onto… Audio

  • The South African World Shearing Team

    30 Mar 2012

    Prior to the 15th World Shearing Championships, held during the Golden Shears in early March, the South African team gathered in the backblocks of Wairarapa to practice. The machine shearers, all… Audio

  • Sheep farmer, shearer and collector Richie Gould

    16 Aug 2013

    Richie Gould is a sheep farmer and shearer from Pleasant Point in South Canterbury. He collects shearing clippers and is one of 20 collectors featured in the book Kiwi Collectors: Curious and Unusual… Audio

The shearer Hinehauone Coralie Cook
[Cook, Hinehauone Coralie], 1904-1993 :[The shearer] Dec 1934. Cook, Hinehauone Coralie, 1904-1993 :[Loose prints, drawings and paintings; and two albums of prints and drawings. 1924-1991]. Ref: E-914-q-030-2. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.

Galleries

See Also

Sheep Heaven: The Small Block Holders Guide to Sheep Farming

External Links