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Story: Shearing

Blade shearing

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Blade shearing

These two blade shearers are at work at Karahea, near the mouth of the Waikato River, in 1955. The shearer on the right is holding the sheep upright between his knees – the style that made colonial shearers considerably faster than those in England.

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Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: AANR 6329 66 K8,997

Permission of Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga must be obtained before any re-use of this material.

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How to cite this page

Des Williams, Shearing – From blades to shearing machines, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/18241/blade-shearing (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Des Williams, published 1 March 2009.