Sheep shearer

In 1888, Australia became the first country in the world to have a complete shearing, at Dunlop Station, finished using machines.

By 1915, most large Australian sheep station shearing sheds had machines that were powered by steam engines.

In the case of powered shears, the movements used are those devised by Godfrey Bowen, in approximately 1950,[1] or the “Tally-Hi” method.

In 1984, Australia became the last country in the world to permit the use of wide combs, due to previous Australian Workers' Union rulings.

The inaugural inductees into the Australian Shearers’ Hall of Fame are Jackie Howe (1861–1920), Julian Stuart (1866–1929), Henry Salter MBE (1907–1997), Kevin Sarre (1933–1995) and John Hutchinson OAM.

[5][6][7] The shearers’ protective clothing and footwear usually includes: or On 10 October 1892, Jackie Howe set a record of 321 sheep shorn in 7 hours and 40 minutes, using blade shears.

Kevin's daughter Deanne holds the Australian women's shearing record, having shorn 392 sheep in a day.

In 1968 Henry Salter was appointed as a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his services to the wool industry.

In 1999 Hutchinson was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for his contribution as a shearer trainer and teacher.

Australian Dwayne Black holds six world records, mainly in shearing endurance or marathon events.

In April 2005, he spent 9 hours shearing 513 Merino ewes, six more than the previous world record.