The board at Mt Hesse still smells of lanolin and warm wool. Cameron steps onto it the way he has for the better part of a decade: boots first, then the kit, then the sheep. A third-generation shearer from bronzed, open country, he arrived here by a longer route than the family name might suggest.
His father and uncles were shearers. He originally had no interest. His dad died at the start of Year 12. Cameron deferred university, spent a gap year half on the family farm and half as a roustabout - sweeping, sorting, picking up the wool - and stayed. One of the blokes in the shed said come on, I’ll teach you. He started full-time at twenty-one. Eight or nine years on, the rhythm has settled into 180 sheep a day, with a personal best of 313 still sitting there as the number he wants to better.
The work travels. No two sheep shear the same; crossbreds are solid and quick, pure merinos lighter in the wool and wrinklier in the skin. The first three months are pure pain. After that you are mostly right, though some days the heavier animals still send you home a little sorer. Spring and summer the wool comes off easier. The season used to be six months; now it stretches to ten or more to fit around sowing and harvest. It is competitive when the shearers peak. You do not want anyone bettering your time.
Most arrive around seven to set up and work through to 5:15pm. The day is built on maintenance: combs and cutters cared for, kit washed and shiny, gear sharp. Cameron has started running teams - they call them gangers - which means dealing with whatever comes up, keeping the shed clicking, and reporting back to the boss every other night. Good people make the difference.
Outside the shed the family farm has grown rather than sold. Everyone expected it to go after his father died. Mum is still there; with his brother and sister they have kept it going and expanded. Fat lambs, mainly. Mum gives him a fair run on what to try. Other shearers who are also farmers talk while they work; ideas come back to the property. Grandparents and uncles live along the same stretch of road. Cameron moved back from Geelong a couple of years ago when they bought another block. He has a four-year-old daughter and another on the way. They are all in each other’s pockets.
Downtime is thin. Weekends they head to the beach at Lorne when they can. In winter he makes time for Geelong games with his brother. He is about to take the family to Noosa - the first proper holiday in four years. Shearing is not a job you do forever. When you love the work, including the farm, you keep at it.
The pair on his feet through the day at Mt Hesse is the 666 Shearer Boot Claret. His Rossi’s look the business and are comfortable enough that the older generation’s habit of getting a lot of life from their Shearer boots still holds. He is sure he will get the same from these.
Shop the boots that do the work
666 Shearer Boot Claret
The traditional Shearer build in claret. Stitchdown construction, full grain kip leather that ages well, and the dust cover over the laces that keeps the kit clean through a full day of shearing.
607 Booma Boot Claret
The Booma has a slim sole profile with a classic mud-shed tread. Same full grain kip and comfort as the Endura, built to shed dirt after a day on the ground and keep going.
303 Endura Boot Claret
The everyday elastic-sided work boot in claret. Full grain kip that softens with wear, and the Air Cushion sole that stays out of the way of the job on concrete, paddock or hard stand.
666 Shearer Boot Tan
The traditional stitchdown Shearer in tan. Full grain kip with the lace dust cover that belongs in a shed, and a flexible crepe sole that stays quiet underfoot for the long days on the board.
