Much of our prosperity was built around the production and export of quality lamb and wool (and much of Aussies' kiwi joke repertoire is about our supposed "intimate association" with the woolly creatures!).
The major event on the sheep industry's calendar each year is The Golden Shears. This competition is an icon of the NZ shearing and wool-handling industry.
Its origins go back to 1958, when members of the Wairarapa Young Farmers’ Club had the idea of holdng a shearing competition at the annual Agricultural and Pastoral Show. Shearers came from all over the country to compete. The competition was such a success that the organisers decided to take it to another level.
World champ, kiwi Cam Ferguson |
The Legend - David Fagan |
By the late 1970s, shearing had entered the world of professionalism. With more competitions, prize money and sponsorship involved, many shearers adopted the attitudes and training regimes of professional athletes, concepts never heard of in those early days.
The competition has come a long way from its humble origins, but The Golden Shears remains the world's premier shearing and wool-handling championships, and the ultimate prize for shearers in NZ.
1 comment:
Your cartoon of the shearer is fantastic. I was looking for a picture to add to my poster to use in a craft fair. It is called Paddock to Product. We use sheep and alpaca fleeece to make felt, spin etc. I was hoping to use your image to promote sheep fleece. Of course i would add credit to the artist and includethe blog yardy yardy yardy. Kind regards Sue Sandeman. Craft Fair is in Queensland this May 11th.
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