The shearing team changes from shed to shed, but here’s the team for Mount Woowoolahra this year.  They are all Maori accept for Jenny the classer.  She determines the quality of the wool.

Karl

Scary from WA

Eru from WA

Ringa Paewai

Jonnie

Will

Jenny the Classer

Terina…another Paewai

Stafford

Aaron Paewai

Lance from Waga Waga

We can’t forget the most important job of all…the COOK.  Thanks Ngakita we were well fed…again!!!

Ngakita

Renarda’s on a roll with her video making…I just have to share this one!

Mt Wooowoolahra is just down the road from Lynray Station.  We had to go back to Lynray to pick up our camper trailer which we left there when we went to Copago.  When we saw the little mount the kids and I couldn’t wait to climb up it.

Climbing the mount

The view from the top

Sundown and the sheep are all ready for the next day of shearing

Before

After

Chris (the owner of Lynray) in action

By the time we got back to Lynray station the shearers had almost finished shearing.  After the slow start with all the rain Lewis enlisted all the top gun shearers to motor through all the sheep.  Here they are in action…(thanks to Renarda for the video)

It’s when you shear the sheep’s face and crutch…just to give them a bit of a spruce up.  I know…I KNOW what you’re thinking.  WHY… would you want a job shearing sheep bums all day!  My thoughts exactly…hahaha

Just to show you the end product, here’s Collin the pet sheep walking home after his makeover.  I wasn’t quick enough to get a before photo.

Wills job is to keep the pens full of sheep for the shearers

While everyone else is hard at work the kids and I have been busy exploring.

We were in such a rush when we came here we forgot the school books…oh well…we had to make do with this as our classroom!!!  The kids didn’t mind one bit!

These nasty things are called three cornered jacks.  They run rampant out here in the outback.  They’re as hard as wood and it doesn’t matter which way they lie, there’s a hard spike ready to stick into your feet.  The kids soon learnt to always wear shoes.

Just hanging out at the shed

After a long days work it’s time to relax.  It’s starting to get a bit cold already here in the outback.  The open fire in the dining room was really cosy.  Jill lent us an Australian history book with a lot of information about the shearers in the olden days and the old Aussie songs like “Click goes the shears”.  It was quite cool reading some of the stories while being in a setting that they would have experienced back in those days.

We left everyone else at Lynray and shot over to Copago for a few days to do some crutching.  Jack and Jill (yes their real names) are the farmers there with their 14 year old son Coner.  Copago is  84,000 acres and has been in Jacks family since his Great Grandfather bought it in 1906.

The house and old shearing shed were built in 1907.

Remnants of the old shed with the long drop in front

The good old dunny again

Luckily for us the toilets had been upgraded.  They even had separate ladies and gents bathrooms with a single FULLY PRIVATE shower for the ladies….that was Heaven after sharing old, unprivate unisex bathrooms for the last couple of months.

The ladies toilet and shower…a big deal!

You still have to fire up the hot water with the donkey though.  We’re getting pretty good at lighting fires now.

Di Lighting the fire

Will trying to keep the fire going

The hot water comes out of the barrels and into the showers

This is the new shed built in the 1990’s.  It’s big, open and spacious and has a raised board, meaning the shearers shear on a platform and the wool handlers don’t have to bend down to pickup the fleece’s.

Jack was handed the farm from his father in the late 90’s.  His son Coner will be the 5^th generation to take on the farm…if he chooses.  He has a few years to make up his mind.  I don’t know much about farming but he seemed to love roaming free on his motorbike and helping out on the farm.  I think he’s got a great future at Copago!

Coner and Jill

Jack, Coner and Jill