Planning for the charity shearing begins

Experienced shearers will work their way through 3,000 sheep for eight hours in a Hinds wool machine next year in memory of old pairs lost to cancer.

Over 50s are already putting their hands up to be part of Shear for Life, a charity haircut event supporting Ashburton Cancer Society and Hospice Mid Canterbury.

Last held in 2019, it is held again in February at the Ewing family’s Hindsridge farm. The challenge ahead of them is to beat the $90,000 raised for charity.

The first event was born when co-founder Rocky Bull and several fellow barbers were talking on a porch in the inner city of Mildura, Victoria, Australia, about a friend who had died of prostate cancer and a friend’s wife with breast cancer in terminal stage.

They decided to come over, cut hair for a week and donate the money to cancer charities.

An initial group of about 10 shearers “grew up fast” and developed into a major event.

The shearers came from all over the country and Australia.

They included 18 current or former world record holders, including Sir David Fagan, Alan MacDonald and Grant Smith, while former All Blacks Sir Buck Shelford, Sir Brian Lohore and Tane Norton, among others, joined the cause.

With several close friends dying of cancer, those felt the time was right to hold a second event.

Mr Bull said these people needed to be recalled and the message was being sent out to the community to check their health.

“Dick Ewing was the farmer when we did that event and 12 months later he’s gone. So we lost him and Sandra (Curd), our secretary, they lost their husband, Rupert, and we had Sir Brian Lochore, Tane Norton and a few. ex-All Blacks, so we wanted to do another one.”

Their families have told them the hospices have given them fantastic support and are a worthy cause to fundraise for, he said.

The veteran groomer has been based in Mid Canterbury for around 30 years.

Mainland Wool director and organizing committee member Brent Jary said the late Mr Ewing was a big part of the first event.

“He added two more racks to the shed to make it a nine-stall shed so it could work. It’s lightning fast. He went out and bought 3,000 lambs of very similar types so they all shear the same lambs. His wife Suzanne is very keen to make this happen.”

Mr Bull said they first spoke to Ms Ewing about possibly operating again and she gave him her full support, including offering the farm as a venue again.

Mr Jary said they initially thought the first event would be a “oncer”, but when they got through it they thought they should have another issue in five years.

The Covid-19 bottlenecks are out of the way and, a year later than expected, it will happen again, he said.

“Many never made it last time and said ‘make sure you tell us if you have another one’ because they didn’t want to miss out. So many were disappointed that they didn’t make it.”

He said the goal is to raise more funds and there has been a lot of interest from cutters, sponsors, businesses and others in the community.

“The last one surprised us and even when it started to get big we thought maybe $30,000 because we had the three charities and maybe we could get them $10,000 each and that would be good .”

In the previous event, the shearers worked for 20 minutes before moving on to the next shift.

They easily fleeced 3000 sheep in the allotted eight hours and stopped for an hour so the All Blacks could speak to the large crowd jammed into the shed and tent.

The concept of “gathering the friends before they pass” will be repeated with more cutting women invited to participate.

A teddy bear trimming competition will be organized for children and the organizers want to bring in the dairy industry to widen the support.

Mr Bull said they had started calling shearers again to confirm their attendance and expected another big turnout.

They wanted to line up a rural identity for the main role of host and had someone in mind and others to attend during the day, he said.

“We’re not interested in doing a massive number – it’s just about getting the crowd, getting everyone’s attention and getting some money flowing.

“We are meant to mingle and meet. That was the idea of ​​the last one and it was so busy that there were so many people that we didn’t get to speak our minds, so this time we’ll make sure we can. they mix more.”

All the big blacks will be brought back. Jock Ross brought out the senses and the Black Ferns will be invited to show off their skills in the stands.

Background music will be provided by teenage country singer Milly Harrison.

Health checks on the day will remind groomers and supporters of the importance of early detection.

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