Shearing Machines: Shear On

Written in 1981 by Bernie Walker All Rights Reserved
as a tribute to the efforts of two great shearers

Those amazing men from New Zealand that I wrote about last year
Have been shearing higher tallies in their record breaking career

A new record to Sam Te Whata the young Kaikohe gun
And John Fagan had to shear again to stay the Number One

Before he left Euroa Samson said he had a scheme
To break John Fagans record that was his current dream

And so in mid November he found the lambs he sought
And for nine exhausting hours young Sam Te Whata fought

For could he better Fagans effort the record then was Sam's
And he added three to the tally for a new record shearing lambs

But nothing if not determined John immediately swore
That he'd win back the record by bettering Samson's score

Some wondered could he do it but he soon allayed their doubt
For he not only broke it he turned it into a rout

With a lamb each forty seconds the man from Pio Pio shore
Standing now is his record an incredible eight hundred and four

And we wonder where it will finish with these two amazing men
Just how many is their limit how many and where and when

For it's a dangerous game they're playing and some we know have died
Trying to break a record the supreme penalty for having tried

But records are made to be broken and to do so men will strive
Some day somewhere some how someone will shear eight hundred and five

Details of records referred to in "The Shearing Machines Shear On"
Sam Te Whata Tally 743, at J.R.Hegarty's property,, Gisbourne, on 21-11-1980 Perendale lambs, Judges: R. Cooper, R. Richardson, N. Baty, S. Symon	Information supplied by C.A. Gilmore-Wilson, Golden Shears, Masterton New Zealand Photos by Don Vickers, Alan Cooke Studios, C Fagan
John Fagan Tally 804, at Mairoa, on 8-12-1980 Marshall Romney & Coopworth lambs, Judges: G Judd, A Simpson, L Kana