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Man versus machine in a show of shear skill
13 Aug 2004
At Dunlop Station on the Darling River, near Louth, the buzz of mechanical shears first drowned out the click of hand-powered blades in 1888. In the intervening 116 years blade-shearing has almost died out in Australia - but it will make a comeback in tomorrow's New South Wales shearing titles in Dubbo.
Blade shearing has been kept alive by some Merino studs that like getting their prize rams done the old-fashioned way. It leaves more fleece on the animal, which makes it look better for sale and show purposes.
Australia's most famous blade shearer is Jackie Howe. One day in 1892 at Queensland's Alice Downs Station he sheared 321 Merinos. Sheep were smaller then but, even so, it took until 1950 for a machine shearer to beat this record.
Sydney Morning Herald, 13/8/04.
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