WORLD'S CHAMPION SHEARER.

Otaki Mail, 2 January 1924, Page 4

WORLD'S CHAMPION SHEARER.

1406 SHEEP IN NINE HOURS. In atn up-country woolshed near SVanganui, William Higgins. shore 406 sheep in a day. Tills performance maue him a world's champion. The achievement, calls lor narration, arid Uie laurels ol fame lor an athletic triumph. It is usual lor international ' Heroes to make trial by combat in an I arena, .and in the presence 01 thousJ alius, Higgins liau a woolshed lor I- a stage, and only his. mates lor n { audience. Instead oi press and cine-; nia to bear witness to his ability, and , / to -spread his reputation la,r and wide, | f liis lame is in print only on the wall . ] ol Uie shed, and in stencilled letter-1 * ing one reads —"W. Higgins, 406." j out eyes on William Higg-Jng and I seo a i.au-haired six-footer of lonrtecn stone and 2!) years. He is clad j in blue denims and sleeveless jeijsey. His bare arms aie fleshy, but show suppleness. His l'eet are in sack moccasins. B.oyangs, belt and braces Unade oi string and motor tubes) commit ce his raiment. ihggms, yoiug lor a tally, seems i .it ease. His gear is ready, headpiece died, port-hole open. He chats .with -i mute, glances into the pen, spots ..ib first sheep, peeps, out of' the win*, .tow, Without looking he knows the /ess is about to strike the. starting Mil, He appears disinterested, but is js tonse as a sprinter, . "Clang!" He is in the pen—no noise, iuo luas. His, sheep must be kept quiet, He backs tbrflugh the pull-out j dragging his first. A quick glaucu I notes Ins next—that bareheaded ewe a which he knows will be in the same [place when wanted. He copld find it olindfofded. It must be so if seconds are to be saved, ana big figures made. He starts on the right side; a quick trim here and there, and down goes the machine on the flank ; wool that is not free breaks on his powerful loremm as the blow drives down the side, of the leg; the wool parts from Uie track of the comb, and pink gleam- : ing skin appears. Up the right, down the left of the brisket. Across .the belly—across, across—his free hand throwing aside the falling wool. He curves, Willi lissom wrist, a pliant blow around the crutch. Drawing the sheep to turn he shears the left | lug lo the tail. Then to the head, laud off comes the forelock. Now the l 1 ragged ends of .(.he breast. Up the i neck" he thrusts under the woof, the machine coining out behind the right j ear; the loop on his ami he breaks with a quick backward pull leaving in sight bare neck. Thus he opens his sheep. He finishes the neck, sotting it to J him by twisting the head. The cheeks ar e done, and turning, always quietly turning, a half shorn shoulder is finished with a couple of downward strokes before dropping the sheep to clean up the ribs. Now, with long ■ sweeping blows from tail to neck, the fleece rolls oh in waves of gold. Then, liiggins straightens and shears tho last shoulder, down the last side, along the. last leg, and the. ewe, nakspeciaJ and £3OO general damages. The ecJ, stripped of her property, is looking out of the porthole. Sho has been on minute on the hoard; a push, and out she goes. Higguns is off again, and dragging that sheep with the free wool through the pull-out. Every muscle from head to toe is in concentrated action. Brain and eye -are working in unison with hand and arm. Bending ' and swaying and balanced ho holds a lull-grown sheep under perfect control, his strong right swinging and - driving with perfect accuracy u.rid !' rhythm. Alongside is. a mate, a pacer, "six furlong horse" stretching hirn to the utmost. The competitive spirit drives them. Face is the whole thing —pace (Stat, depends upon study, training!, accuracy and resolution. All ,the day long, for nine solid hours, Higgins must go for it. The shed is like an oven. Sweat breaks out on his brow, trickles down his ;ace. and drops to tho floor. How he •iches! His back .is nearly broken | ivith bending; his legs quiver with; the strain ol gripping; his anklfi* are | tortured; his brain .rings from the i punching of the engine and the Whirr L'l the pulleys. SAt. it. Another sheep, a, living hun- j drecl-weight. is dragged t.o the stand I Holdings pressing, turning, and the I t "other bloke" pushing him all the I time—so. the day goes 0n —406 sheep, I j and ewes at that, is Higgins' tally • • lor a day. Over twenty tons of liy-1 ' ing weight he drags, .throws and I . holds—a feat of pace, power and en--1 durance that raises it to the highest I rank of physical prowess. i Higgins uses the broad, comb. He k ha? an ingenious contrivance, a pat- I \ ent rack of his own invention, which etarts and stops the machine. The ~ weight of his hand-piece on the rack t cuts off tho power j the act of raising \ jit throws the overhead gear nto act- j ' ion again. Thus, from the moment j he prasps his hand-piece he is ready for action, a, second or two is saved, and his left hand never leaves the ! sheep. William Higgins' record tally Was made at Mr Bradley's shed at Mou- '■ mahaki, in February, 1923, when he | shore .406. Romney-Lincoln .ewes right ,

J out of the pen, in 9 hours. In the j first run of two hours 78 sheep were 3 shorn. In the next four runs of one {and three-quarter hours each he I shore 80, 82, 85 and 81 respectively. I In the final sprint, ten sheep .were 1 finished in ten minutes, and Higgins, iit is said, "finished as fresh as a daisy." Two combs were broken during the feat. Last year, in the same shed, he shore 353 in 8 hours 45 minutes. In the first run of two hours 80 sheep »were shorn; in the next three runs of ' one and three-quarter hours, 76, 79, ' and 76; in the last run Of one and ahalf hours 72 sheep were done. Two ' years ago he shore 373 sheep at Mr ' \V. G. Moore's shed, near Maxweli- ' town, in 8 hours 25 minutes, and Mr ' Moore's comment was "the faster he goe=, the better he does them." The records of William Higgins can. be verified beyond question, and entitle him to rank as" the shearer with the greatest tallv to his credit, and the champion pacer in the woolsheds of the world.—Wanganui Chronicle.