A sheep shearer is a worker who shears sheep. This activity was previously conducted mostly by shepherds, and still is in certain areas of the world, but in modern times there are specific workers that shear.
History During the early years of sheep breeding in Australia, shearing was carried out by shepherds, assigned servants, Ticket of Leave men, and free labourers using blade shears. As the sheep industry expanded, more shearers were required. Although the demand had increased, conditions had not improved and shearers had to contend with terrible working conditions, very long hours and low pay. 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. Later, internal combustion engines powered machines until rural power supplies became available.
Sheep shearing today In most countries like Australia with large sheep flocks, the shearer is one of a contractor's team that go from property to property shearing sheep and preparing the wool for market. A workday starts at 7:30 am and the day is divided into four "runs" of two hours each. "Smoko" breaks of a half hour each are at 9:30 am and again at 3 pm. The lunch break is taken at 12 midday for one hour. Most shearers are paid on a piece rate, i.e., per sheep. The shearer collects a sheep from a catching pen, positions it on his "stand" on the shearing board and operates the shearing hand-piece. A shearer begins by removing the wool over the sheep's belly, which is separated from the main fleece by a rouseabout while the sheep is still being shorn. The remainder of the fleece is taken off in one piece by following an efficient set of movements. In the case of powered shears, the movements used are those devised by Godfrey Bowen, in approximately 1950, or the "Tally-Hi" method. In 1963, the Tally-Hi shearing system was developed by Kevin Sarre and the Australian Wool Corporation who promoted the technique using synchronised shearing demonstrations. Sheep struggle less using the Tally-Hi method, reducing strain on the shearer and there is a saving of about 30 seconds shearing each sheep. When finished, the shorn sheep is removed from the board via a chute in the floor, or wall, to a counting out pen, efficiently removing it from the shed. The latest shearing patterns which are used by some of the most efficient shearers around the world, world record holders, world champions, etc. have fewer blows due to better sheep control and positioning. These patterns ensure that there is less strain placed on the sheep and the shearers due to the advanced techniques used.
A professional or "gun" shearer typically removes a fleece, without badly marking or cutting the sheep, in two to three minutes depending on the size and condition of the sheep, or less than two in elite competitive shearing. Shearers who "tally" more than 400 sheep per day when shearing crossbreds, or around 200 for finer wool sheep such as merino, are known as "gun shearers". Gun shearers using blade shears are usually shearers that have shorn at least 200 sheep in a day. A learner (shearer) is a shearer or intending shearer who has shorn less than a specified number of sheep. In 1983 the Australian shearing industry was torn apart by the wide comb dispute and the ensuing 10-week strike that followed. The offending combs had been introduced by New Zealanders who were weaker union supporters. 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 Shear Outback, Australian Shearers' Hall of Fame and museum, was officially opened on 26 January 2001 at Hay, New South Wales in recognition the great wool industry and the great shearers of Australia, especially those of the Outback. 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. These inductees were chosen because they had won world championships or had shorn high tallies.
Clothing
The shearers' protective clothing and footwear usually includes:
Shearers' jeans or dungarees which have a double thickness of material over the front and lower back leg. Shearers' singlets: singlets with patches under the arms where the sheep's feet are placed during shearing. Shearers' boots: leather boots with elastic sides or lacing across the front and a flap to prevent the comb catching in the laces or
Shearers' moccasins: a modern synthetic fleece version of the laced boots above, which have a non-slip coating on the sole to prevent slipping on grease in the shearing sheds. These moccasins are washable to prevent the spread of disease and lice etc.
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