Sheep Droving in New Zealand - Travel Poster - circa 1930s

 

Sheep Droving in New Zealand - Travel Poster - Marcus King - circa 1930s

What gallery of New Zealand travel posters would be complete without a picture of white fluffies sans dags ambling along a country road or bounding across a pasture as a rambunctious hunteraway or a stealthy eye dog steers them towards some unseen gateway or set of yards?

In this Marcus King poster, electric power pylons string out down the valley showcasing the expanding role of hydro power dams in the southern lakes and rivers region of the South Island. So, the engineers - nationbuilders that they were - also get a look in.

Kiwis Clean Up at World Sheep Shearing Champs in Norway

Kiwis grabbed 4 of the 6 titles at stake at the 13th Golden Shears World Championships held in Norway over the weekend.

New Zealand won both the individual and team events in wool handling and machine shearing.

It's not all about speed - a shearer that cuts a sheep loses points. S0, although a sheep can be shorn in as little as 20 seconds, the average at the world champs is between 30-40 seconds.

New Zealand's wool handling team needed just 7 minutes 53 seconds to polish off 16 lambs, while its machine shearing team finished 20 lambs in 16 minutes 15 seconds.

Sheree Alabaster claimed the wool handling individual final, handling 10 lambs in just 12 minutes 52 seconds, and Paul Avery handled 20 lambs in 15 minutes 6 seconds.

Tough, back-breaking work - or competitive sport. With an ice-cold beverage to top things off...

Take a look at competitive shearing at the Nelson A&P show, New Zealand: