Although for some years there had been shearing championship competitions run at Royal Shows in New Zealand and Australia, there was no official national championship in either country. In 1957 the Wairarapa Young Farmers' Club organised a shearing competition at Masterton in conjunction with the local A. and P. Show. The experiment proved so popular that the organisers decided to institute a national championship contest. Little was done about this idea until July 1960 when the public interest shown in a small shearing demonstration, arranged in Masterton by Federated Farmers and the Department of Agriculture, encouraged the YFC to persevere with their proposal. The Golden Shears International Shearing Championship Society was formed later in that year, and in March 1961 the first Golden Shears Championship was held at the War Memorial Stadium, Masterton. Altogether, nearly 300 shearers from New Zealand and Australia, including Godfrey Bowen, took part. Since then the Golden Shears Championship has become an annual sporting event. In February 1963 a special Royal Invitation Shearing Carnival, which the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh attended, was held at Fraser Park, near Wellington.

Since 1961 shearing championships have been instituted in Australia and Great Britain; and it is the intention of the Golden Shears International Shearing Championship Society to establish Commonwealth and, later, World Championship contests. Already the United States, Russia, and other countries are showing interest in the sport.

The following are the winners of the New Zealand Golden Shears Open Championship since its inception:

*Royal invitation carnival

Shearing has always been the highlight of the wool-grower's year – the reaping of the wool harvest – the reward for his efforts. It is traditionally a time of great activity and bustle, with long hours and hot, tiring work for everybody on the sheep station. In the early days sheep stations tended to be much larger and more isolated than now, and with Merino sheep being shorn by blades (that is, hand shears), shearing took considerably more time than it does today. Then it was quite common for the whole flock to be washed before shearing or for the fleeces to be scoured afterwards to improve the look of the wool and reduce its weight for easier transport. Subdivision of properties, the swing away from merino sheep, the coming of shearing machines, improvement of roads, and provision of electric power have all tended to shorten shearing. It can still be badly disorganised by wet weather, but on many properties today shearing is finished in as many days as it used to take weeks.

Until fairly recently, shearing was invariably a summer job, sometime between October and January, with November and December by far the busiest months in most districts. Today shearing is going on somewhere in New Zealand for almost 10 months of the year, with more and more farmers shearing some or all of their sheep twice a year. Most sheep farmers own a woolshed, specially designed for shearing and wool handling, designated as two stand, three stand, etc., according to the number of shearing machines installed. These are mainly electrically driven, although a few engines are still used in isolated districts. The woolshed holds a large number of sheep overnight. This keeps them dry in case of rain and allows for expeditious handling and shearing. Provision is also made for handling and pressing the wool into bales.

Shearing generally starts early, about 5 or 5.30 a.m., and the day is broken up into “runs”. “Knock-off” may be at 5.30 p.m., but actual shearing time is probably nine hours, with “spells” (breaks) between six typical “runs” totalling three hours. These spells are essential, owing to the strenuous nature of the work. Shearers nearly all wear woollen singlets and trousers to absorb perspiration and prevent chills, and home-made sacking “moccasins”, which are soft on the feet and nonslippery on the greasy shearing board. Contract-shearing gangs operate, especially on the east coast of the North Island. Large gangs, often entirely Maori, have their own cooks and shed hands with them, and they undertake the whole shearing and wool handling for a contract price. In most districts, however, the smaller woolgrowers hire one or two shearers, or they may depend largely on sons or neighbours to help out. A “new chum” shearer may feel he is doing well to exceed 100 sheep a day, but many professionals can consistently shear daily tallies of between 200 and 300. The present New Zealand record for machine shearing is 463 sheep in a nine-hour day. Shearing competitions are becoming increasingly popular, where both speed and standard of workmanship count, and the former “greasy shearer” has now the status and reward of a skilled artisan.

by J.E.D.

• Wool Away — the Technique and Art of Shearing, Bowen, G. (1955)
• Sheep-O — the Story of the World's Fastest Shearers, Mills, A. R. (1960).

The white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), or mango tuatini of the Maoris, is a large, heavy-bodied shark attaining a length of 16 ft and a weight of over 1,700 lb. A 928–lb example caught off Whangaroa had in its stomach a 4–ft mako, the backbone of another, a 40–lb hapuku, a gannet, a 25–lb lump of whale blubber, and seven strands of whalebone. This voracious shark occurs in Australian waters also, where its name “white death” indicates that it is a dangerous species. It is greyish above, white below, and has large triangular teeth with serrated edges. Early in 1964 what is believed to be a white shark attacked and killed a swimmer at St. Clair beach, Dunedin. Two swimmers who went to the rescue were awarded the George Medal in October 1964.

by Arthur William Baden Powell, Assistant Director, Auckland Institute and Museum.

The thresher shark (Alopias vulpinus), or mango ripi of the Maoris, is very easily recognised by the extremely large upper fluke of the tail, which is as long as the combined length of the head and body. The colour of the thresher is dark-blue above and white below. The mouth and teeth are very small, but it uses its long tail to beat the water and round up small fish upon which it feeds. The thresher is not uncommon in Northland waters and is generally distributed in Australia. It attains a length of 18 ft and a weight of at least 922 lb.

by Arthur William Baden Powell, Assistant Director, Auckland Institute and Museum.

The seven-gilled shark (Notorynchus cepedianus), or tuatini of the Maoris, differs from all other New Zealand sharks in its having seven gill slits instead of the usual five. The dorsal fin is small and rounded and situated well back towards the tail, which has the upper fluke much the larger. In colour it is sandy-grey above and white below. The teeth are distinctive and differ in each jaw; the upper ones are more or less pointed, but the lower ones have eight or nine cusps and resemble short sections of a hacksaw blade. It grows to over 9 ft, but is rather uncommon in New Zealand. In Australia it is regarded as a dangerous species.

by Arthur William Baden Powell, Assistant Director, Auckland Institute and Museum.

The school shark or Tope (Galeorhinus australis) is very similar to the dogfish in shape, having a double tail and pointed nose, but it has proportionately a greater girth and is much larger, attaining a length of from 6 to 7 ft. In colour it is slaty-purple to brownish above and much lighter below. The teeth are sharply pointed and serrated, but this shark is not considered dangerous.

by Arthur William Baden Powell, Assistant Director, Auckland Institute and Museum.

The mako shark (Isurus oxyrhinchus) is a well-known “big game” fish common in North Auckland waters. A record-sized specimen in the Auckland Museum is 11 ft 6 in. in length and weighed 798 lb. The species occurs also in Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia, and New South Wales, where it is known as the blue pointer or snapper shark. This shark is electric blue above and white below, has a pointed snout, and sharp awl-like teeth. It preys on kahawai and other fish, and is, according to anglers, the only local shark that will take a fast-moving bait. The Maoris prized the teeth of the mako as ear ornaments.

by Arthur William Baden Powell, Assistant Director, Auckland Institute and Museum.

The hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini), or mangopare of the Maoris, is well named, for the lateral extensions of the head are shaped just like a double-headed hammer. It grows up to about 15 ft in length, but most examples seen locally are less than half that length. Young examples are ash grey above, fading to pale yellowish below, but adults are often yellowish-brown to khaki colour. The eyes are at the extremities of the hammer head. In Australia this shark is regarded as dangerous, since large specimens frequent bathing beaches.

by Arthur William Baden Powell, Assistant Director, Auckland Institute and Museum.

The gummy shark or Dogfish (Mustelus antarcticus), or manga of the Maoris, comes into very shallow water at night and is frequently encountered on mud flats. It grows up to 3 ½ ft in length and is ashy grey with lighter spots on the back. It is easily recognised by its small blunt teeth, arranged like a pavement, which renders it inoffensive to man. The Maoris of old relished the sun-dried flesh of this and other small sharks.

by Arthur William Baden Powell, Assistant Director, Auckland Institute and Museum.

Cephaloscyllium isabellum).

This is a small harmless species, about 3 ft in length which frequents the sea bed, where it feeds on crabs, worms, and other marine organisms. It is brown, mottled, and spotted with darker brown. The body is flattened dorsally and the tail resembles that of a dogfish. In shape the carpet shark somewhat approaches the spreading form of a sting ray.

by Arthur William Baden Powell, Assistant Director, Auckland Institute and Museum.