Indigenous shearing talent on display at this year’s Perth Royal Show

The continuous training of WA’s wool harvesting work force was demonstrated at the Perth Royal Show with a group of Indigenous people who were commended for their natural talent and abilities.

The Mhunga Whalla Sheep Shearing and Woolhandling Exhibition held on October 1 at the Show’s Jim Horwood Pavilion provided an opportunity for regional shearing hub trainees to promote shearing and woolhandling as a future career pathway for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

The exhibition brought 13 regional Indigenous novice graduates of shearing schools held from 2020 to 2022 together to demonstrate their skills in front of a large crowd.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development has been working closely with Australian Wool Innovation, the WA Shearing Industry Association, woolgrowers and shearing contractors to undertake nine novice schools since 2020.

The objective of the novice training program was to provide local training opportunities mainly for Indigenous youth to undertake non-accredited training and then secure positions as a woolhandler or secure a learner shearer stand with a contractor.

The industry has welcomed the initiative during a period where the State’s shearing contractors were significantly short by at least 180 shearing staff over the last two seasons on normal years.

Representing the WA Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan, Labor MP Darren West said the exhibition was a “truly remarkable” event hosted by the Royal Agricultural Society of WA.

“It is inspiring of what has been achieved here today,” he said.

“A lot of people have worked on an idea of the late great Bobby Pepper from Mhunga Whalla Shearing and taken it to a reality — they never stopped believing it could be done.

“We have put a bit of money and resources in from the State Government because we believed it could happen and it has.”

Mr West said everyone involved was bursting with pride.

“Its been good watching your (Indigenous graduates) journey all the way through, you have the best there is (trainers) to show how it is done,” he said.

“You’re the first of many.”

“Now it is up to the industry and contractors to put these guys forward, because the industry needs them.”

RASWA president David Thomas said it was a fantastic event.

“Well done guys (graduates and organisers), I think the experience and time you have put into this will be well rewarded,” he said.

“This is a first, and I’m sure it will not be the last.”

Trayning Indigenous shearer Stephen McCarthy put in a great performance in his first Perth Royal Show competitive appearance, placing second in the Novice Shearing Competition, a personal best.

“I was nervous so I tried to make every blow clean,” he said.

“The sheep were better then what I was used to — good size and were clean and easier to shear.

“It is good that they (organisers of shearing schools) want more of us Indigenous boys out there to start up shearing and a lot of us are doing good at it.”

Countryman first met Mr McCarthy in February at the Peel woolshed where he was in a five-day shearing school through the collaboration of Emanuel Exports, WASIA, DPIRD and AWI.

“We have some good teachers and they keep us on track,” he said.