POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Hand sheep shears made in Sheffield, England, 1950-1955

Object No. H10371

This is a pair of hand operated sheep shears made in Sheffield, England, between 1950 and 1955. They were used from the 1950s on farms around New South Wales to shear stud sheep for shows. The technique of Australian shearing gradually developed from the 1830s using the old English method of cutting the flank with hand shears in a series of circular cuts from the sheep's neck to the tail. An improvement was cutting the wool in the opposite direction from the tail to neck called the long 'blow'. This reduced the number of positions needed to hold the sheep and was much faster. By the 1890s most shearers used the long or three-quarter blow. Nevertheless, it took just over 5 minutes to hand shear a sheep, with an average daily tally of 60 to 80 sheep. Hand shearing was extremely hard work with shearers suffering from hand strain or 'swollen wrists' and back pain. Hand shears were very sharp and often had a leather strap or 'driver' which passed over the hand. Others had sheepskin bound around the grip. The blades had to be regularly sharpened on a grinding stone. Most of the hand shears were made in Sheffield, England, and various models were produced with wide or narrow blades, sharp or rounded points, and various grips and bows. Some British manufacturers even sent their representatives out to the Australian shearing sheds to ascertain local requirements. As Australian flock sizes increased dramatically during the second half of the 1800s, there was a need to develop mechanised shearing. Its introduction was hampered by the need to find a cutting system which would not clog with wool, would remain efficient, and have a flexible power transmission which would not restrict the movement of the shearer. There was also industrial action by the hand shearers opposed to the new shearing machines. The world's first patent for a shearing machine was granted to a Melbourne compositor, J.A.B. Higham, in 1868, but the first practical commercial machine was patented in 1877 by Frederick York Wolseley (1837-1899), a New South Wales squatter from near Walgett. Margaret Simpson, Curator March 2016