Mechanical shears presented to Jack Howe by the Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Company

This mechanical shearing handpiece was owned by record-holding shearer, Jack Howe. He set records even while other shearers tickled him, jumped on his back or threw sheep into the pen. Howe was an active member of the shearers’ union and the Queensland Labor Party.

Frederick Wolseley’s invention of the first commercially successful sheep shearing machine in Australia revolutionised the sheep shearing industry in Australia. Wolseley was a great promoter of his machines. He visited shearing sheds to give practical lessons and demonstrated the machines at agricultural shows. In presenting this handpiece to Jack Howe, the best shearer in the country, the company was able to further promote its machines.