This engraving from The Illustrated New Zealand News of December 1883 shows that by this time large woolsheds were being built, so sheep could be shorn inside. About a dozen shearers are at work using blade shears, while ‘picker-ups’ (also known as ‘rouseabouts’ or ‘rousies’) sweep up the shorn wool. A tar-boy waits with brush in hand to smear tar over cuts to stop bleeding. The inset shows the ‘boss’, or ‘ringer’ – the fastest shearer in the gang.
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Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference:
PUBL-0110-1883-002
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.
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