Des Williams reviews Woolsheds: The historic shearing sheds of Aotearoa New Zealand by Annette O’Sullivan and Jane Ussher for Shearing Magazine:
‘Many years ago it is now since a good friend suggested to this writer he should tour New Zealand, photographing and writing stories about old woolsheds. “And when you do, I’m coming with you,” he said, as if to clinch the deal.
It was agreed immediately there would be some fabulous road trips, some great stories to be discovered and told, and probably several months of simply living the dream.
“Just one major and insurmountable problem,” I replied. “You would be a great travelling companion, though you might have to learn how to drink whisky, and I might have some ability as a writer, but I certainly don’t have the skills as a photographer to do justice to that mission."
Well mate, here we are maybe 25 years later and the job has been done, by two absolute professionals.
Writer, Dr Annette O’Sullivan from Massey University has teamed with Jane Ussher MNZM, “one of New Zealand’s most lauded photographers.” The result is Woolsheds – the historic shearing sheds of Aotearoa New Zealand. Published earlier this month by Massey University Press, the book contains 330 pages of text and images of spell-binding quality, capturing intimate interior shed details from the past 150 years and more.
The large format book focuses on fifteen sheds, chosen from an initial list of about 70 according to a rigorous set of criteria. “The woolshed had to be in original or near-original condition and preferably with a long history of family ownership. I looked for unique features such as building materials, differences in woolshed design, rare equipment and other historic farm buildings,” Dr O’Sullivan explains.
Her list resulted in eight sheds in the South Island and seven in the North. South Island: Highfield, Homebush, Terrace Station, Longbeach, Te Waimate, Kuriheka, Shag Valley and Kawarau. North Island: Puketoro, Maraekakaho, Moawhango, Opiki, Moanaroa, Bowlands and Lagoon Hill.
Each of the 15 stations is introduced with a four-page essay (1600-2000 words) focused on the history of the woolshed, followed by 12-20 magnificent images (photos!) of varying sizes, many of them full-page size.
Here we take a closer look at Lagoon Hill, which may be among the sheds more familiar to readers of today and recent decades. The history of Lagoon Hill station, 27 kilometres towards the coast from Martinborough in the Wairarapa, is caught up with one prominent family, the Riddifords, whose early family history began in 1840 when Daniel Riddiford arrived in New Zealand as an emigration agent for the New Zealand Company. Several large properties were acquired over the years including Te Awaiti and Tora. Lagoon Hill itself was established in 1915 by the original Riddiford’s grandson, (also Daniel). Follows some of Dr O’Sullivan’s detailed description of the Lagoon Hill shed and surrounds:
“The well-preserved green and white painted, corrugated-ironclad woolshed with its open, airy feel was a sophisticated and advanced design in its day. The interior is built of matai and rimu, thought to have been milled on the property. It has five ventilation lanterns with wooden louvres equally spaced across the corrugated iron roof and sash windows above the stands. To the right is the shepherd's house, also clad in corrugated iron, at the back of the woolshed are covered sheep yards. Together they are an impressive complex of farm buildings.
“The woolshed’s two-storey design provided storage space for wool bales on the upper floor. Bales were hauled up on boards attached to the sides of stairs by a belt-driven winch powered by the Lister engine in the expert’s room. Bales were stored until transport was arranged and then lowered through double doors at the front onto transport below by a pulley attached to the centre of the storeroom floor. The lower floor of the wool room has the same double doors for loading bales from a raised platform.
“The woolshed is an L-shaped design and has 10 machine shearing stands along the side wall, making a long shearing board. The sheep pens can hold 2500 sheep, brought in from the covered yards at the rear of the building. After shearing they exit portholes into another, smaller set of covered
counting out pens. The shed’s Lister shearing machines were installed when the woolshed was built and are still attached to the original shearing shaft. They are regularly maintained and still work well. Before they were converted to electricity in the 1960s the machines were driven by a Lister engine, located in an open-sided room built into the side of the shed. It was powered by diesel, as was the grinder. Both the engine and grinder still sit in the expert’s room at the end of the shearing board. The vertical sliding hatches in the wall allowed shearers to leave their combs and cutters for the experts to sharpen.
“The catching pens are shared by two shearers and have double doors opening onto the board. Behind them the rest of the shed is made-up of a series of holding pens. Back in 1915 the mobile wooden wool bins on wheels - an update of the traditional baskets - and the Avery scales placed level with the floor must have seemed a modern model of efficiency during the big shears of Lagoon Hill’s glory days, when the station carried around 40,000 sheep.
“The group of farm buildings set among trees a short distance from the woolshed indicate the scale of the original farm, back in an era when six permanent shepherds lived on the property. There was a nine-room accommodation block for shearers, single men's quarters, a toilet and shower block, a wash house, a cook house, a drying room, a stable and a station shop. Not far away is the handsome manager’s house, where a little library built into a corner of the veranda was available to the farm staff to borrow books. Its shelves remain well stocked.”
Questioned about what she hoped readers would take from the book, Dr O’Sullivan said her aim was to create a lasting record of some of the most significant historic woolsheds in New Zealand and record their histories and heritage objects.
“The stories speak of vision, resilience and resourcefulness of early farmers and the woolsheds are their legacy. Shearing histories told through objects found in the sheds include handmade stencils that carried the identity of the owner to international markets on the other side of the world. This is a branding history of New Zealand’s first export brands, some of which have stood the test of time.
“The book is a celebration of the architectural, economic, cultural and social contribution of sheep farming to the history of the nation and a sober reminder of the importance of wool today.”
And did her producing the book result in her developing a new respect for shearers? “… Once the music starts, it is all on. This is teamwork at its best with each person playing an important role in keeping pace with the shearer till the next smoko break.
“It is an impressive operation that is both compelling and exhausting to watch,” Dr O'Sullivan concluded.’
