Jack Howe shearing records

The ultimate scene was set at ‘Alice Downs’ Blackall on 10^th October, 1892. By now, Jack was in peak form and had a reputation as a fast and clean blade shearer with a competitive streak whose mere presence in sheds would encourage tallies from men far above their usual.

A standard working week was five, eight-hour days with a four and a half hour session on Saturday morning. In the week preceding his record, Jack had put up a huge tally of 1437, setting a sizzling pace that noone could match. Speculation in the hotel bars and the town was rife that weekend as to the number Howe could really shear. The challenge of a sceptic’s statement that he couldn’t shear 300 sheep in a day resulted in punters putting their money either way on the outcome.

It was a warm Monday in October when Jack set out to prove the sceptics wrong. They had underestimated his sheer physical power and determination. As he neared his 300 Harry Dunn, Jack’s pen mate in that shed later told of the interference that occurred. Men stood to lose money - he was tickled, men jumped on his back and his sheep were thrown back into the pen in an effort to slow him down. At last he called it a day - 20 minutes before knock off time. In 7 hours and 40 minutes, Jack Howe had shorn an unheard of 321 sheep with blade shears.

Later that year, he used machine shears for the first time at ‘Barcaldine Downs’ chalking up a tally of 237 in one working day. ‘Barcaldine Downs’ has no records prior to 1914 so there exists to further evidence of his machine shearing record. However, there is a reference in The Worker on 7^th October, 1968 of Jack shearing 319 sheep at the new machine shearing shed at "Alice Downs" in the late 1890's.

Photograph with named parts of the Hind's Patent Double Bow or Tongs. Curtesy of Alan Cameron, Tamworth, from his collection of handpieces.

Gold medals were awarded to Jack for these feats as, in 1892, Messrs. Colemane & Sons Eucalyptus Manufacturers of Cootamundra, N.S.W. had a standing offer appearing in several newspapers of a gold medal valued at £10.10s for highest number of sheep shorn in any of the Colonies and also of a £5.5s gold medal for the highest tally shorn by machines. Jack proudly wore these two medals on his gold watch chain whenever he wore his suit. The Wolseley Shearing Machine Co. also presented him with a handpiece engraved with the following: “Presented to Jack Howe by the Wolseley SSM Co. January 1893”.

The medals awarded to Jack for his record tallies. The inscription reads - left medal:

WON BY JOHN R HOWE Blackall Queensland. Sheep shorn 321 at Alice Downs QUEENSLAND.

Right medal:

WON BY JOHN. R. HOWE. Blackall Queensland. tally 237. Barcaldine Station. QUEENSLAND.

Jack always wore them, when dressed in his suit, attached to the gold fob chain seen here.

Reverse side of medal on left:-

PRESENTED BY COLEMANE & SONS Ltd. Eucalypte Manufacturers Cootamundra N.S.W. for highest tally with SHEARING MACHINES Season 1892. (in eight hours)

Reverse side of medal on left:

PRESENTED BY Colemane & Sons, Ltd. Eucalypte Manufacturers. Cootamundra, N.S.W. for highest tally of Sheep Shorn in the Colonies in eight hours for the season 1892 by Hand Shearing.

According to Kevin Schluter in the segment from a late September 1993 issue of the 'Bulletin' titled The Bulletin 100 Years Ago, the following year Colemane & Sons issued an amended challenge. An article in the Bulletin September 23rd 1893 stated that the gold medals in future were for the Colony of New South Wales only and that no shearer was to win the medals two years running. The New South Wales based company appeared to have expected a N.S.W. shearer to win the original medals and this effectively ruled out Jack from further participation. However, this decision scuttled the most prestigious and exciting competition that not only captured the imagination of Australians but of other countries as well. Colemane & Sons course of action had cast Jack Howe as a shearing legend who will never be surpassed.

A page from the tally book from the 10th October, 1892 where the day's shearing tallies were recorded. Jack's record total of 321 is recorded by him on the fifth line down.

When Jack Howe was shearing, the sheep had to be shorn cleanly and had to be carried to the board, not dragged as is the case now. There was a boss of the board in all sheds during those times to ensure those standards were rigidly kept and any shearer who breached a standard while shearing a sheep had it deducted from his overall tally. Shears were made from the finest grade steel which had to be kept sharp for the cleanest cut. Jack had a reputation as an artist in his trade and a perfectionist, and thereby demonstrated that he was indeed the Blade Shearing Champion of Australia, the Colonies and the World.

To this day, Jack Howe is the only shearer to have set a blade shearing and machine shearing record in the same year. His tally of 321 shorn with blade shears has never been broken and it took 58 years for it to be beaten by machine shears. His record for machine shears was not broken until September 1950 when Ted Reich shore 326 at ‘Brinard’ Julia Creek - some 58 years later.

A modern day shearing shed. Sheep are caught in the catching pens to the right and released when shorn into the let go pens behind the shearers. Shearers now have the aid of the harness to relieve back strain.