@jgpittenger How very true Jane - it is as it would have been when the N.P.s bought the property. Not an easy life - and pretty rough, tough men...The days of shearers hand shearing have long gone but there are still legendary stories told. I did a bit of Googling and found the following incredible facts:
Jack Howe was a shearer whose feats in the sheds of central Queensland made him a legend. In 1892, Howe sheared 321 sheep in one day using hand shears – a record that still stands today. They actually called the hand shears "Jackie Howes" in honour of him.
Today, shearers typically shear about 100 sheep per day. A 'gun shearer' or 'ringer' (the fastest shearer in the shed) can shear 200–300 or more sheep per day.
As you said -- all pretty amazing
Cheers Rob
@olivetreeann Hi Ann - no - the top room was where they sorted the wool into different categories of fineness and then used the big machine in the middle to bale the woold into huge bales. Each bale was then marked using one of the stencils shown in the middle photo - that identified the fineness of the wool and affected the value of the bale.
In the bottom photo you can see the light streaming in through the door where the sheep entered. They were separated into different fenced sections - each with a gate that would allow the selected shearer to reach in and grab the next sheep. The one he had just finished was pushed out a small hole in the side of the building and slid down a chute to ground level.
It would be very noisy, busy and very hot!!
Cheers Rob
Jack Howe was a shearer whose feats in the sheds of central Queensland made him a legend. In 1892, Howe sheared 321 sheep in one day using hand shears – a record that still stands today. They actually called the hand shears "Jackie Howes" in honour of him.
Today, shearers typically shear about 100 sheep per day. A 'gun shearer' or 'ringer' (the fastest shearer in the shed) can shear 200–300 or more sheep per day.
As you said -- all pretty amazing
Cheers Rob
In the bottom photo you can see the light streaming in through the door where the sheep entered. They were separated into different fenced sections - each with a gate that would allow the selected shearer to reach in and grab the next sheep. The one he had just finished was pushed out a small hole in the side of the building and slid down a chute to ground level.
It would be very noisy, busy and very hot!!
Cheers Rob