The last shear

After decades on the land, this Western district farmer decided it was time. Time to rest. Time to retire. Time to move on.

And with that, time for the last shear.

I was lucky enough to be present at the last shearing before all the sheep were sold. I think I found it more emotional than anyone else. Perhaps the shearer, having done this day in and day out for as long as he could remember, just saw it as another day. The rouseabout just saw a day's pay. And the farmer, well, it had to be done. He saw a finality, I'm sure, but perhaps also a sense of relief that it would be the last time. So he just got in and did it. No further thought required after 60 years of farming.

I saw a chapter of history coming to an end. And I couldn't let that go by without recording it.

These hands have seen countless sheep and bales of wool in their time. They'll never see another again.

A glimpse of the man responsible for the entire operation. Even at 80, a farmer's hands are never idle.

Something you may not know about me is that I have an arts degree from the University of New England. I majored in history and was invited back to do honours, but my career path took me elsewhere. However, I never lost my curiosity about the past and my desire to preserve knowledge for future generations. That desire to record and preserve history, above all else, is what brings me to photography, and why I thoroughly enjoyed photographing the last shear.