Shearing hopefuls a cut above

Shears at the ready with a steady hand, a local shearing school has had a successful finish with all participants testing their woolshed skills at a Brookton sheep farm last month.

The Warranine Park Shearing and Woolhandling Camp, held from March 16 to 28, attracted 11 students to the Walker family’s shearing shed..

Brookton woolgrower Ellen Walker, of Warranine Park, said she was “amazed” with all the students’ newfound abilities.

“The school finished up really well,” Ms Walker said said.

“The kids all had enough skills to get a job in a shearing team not necessarily as a shearer but as a shedhand or member of shed staff and they can work their way up from there.”

Ms Walker said the shearing school had been a great way to get indigenous youth into the workforce.

“Aboriginal shearers were the traditional shearers we had before the Kiwis came across and started shearing over here,” she said.

“They used to travel around in family units and do shearing, then travel onto the next shed. Aboriginal kids seem to have a sixth sense when it comes to shearing.

“They pick it up really quickly and have a natural affinity to shearing and a lot like to stay close to home and around here.

“There’s lots of sheep to be shorn, so it’s good in the fact they can stay close to home in support networks and it also gives them a career.”