A lifetime of shearing sheep
One of Matt Mainland’s favourite ways to spend family time is shearing alongside his sons with the daughters-in-law taking care of the woolhandling.
When the Mainland family held shearing days, Matt’s wife, Carolyn, was needed elsewhere.
‘‘I’m looking after the [grand] kids and doing the cooking,’’ she said.
Matt, who owns a sheep and beef farm on 202 hectares (500 acres) at Mokotua, has shorn for most of his life and is as passionate as ever about it at age 68.
‘‘I love it.’’
One day last week he shore 242 sheep for a neighbour in Mokotua.
He stopped entering competitions in 1981 and became a judge at southern shearing events in 2000.
Matt will judge at the New Zealand Full Wool Championships at Five Rivers (shearing) and Castlerock (woolhandling) on Friday and at the New Zealand Lamb Shearing Championships at the Winton A&P Show on Saturday. The Lamb Shearing Championships are being held by the Southland Shearing Committee, of which Matt is a past president and Carolyn officiates as secretary-treasurer.
Six members of the Mainland family will be involved in the running of the championship at Winton.
The Mainlands’ sons, Andrew (Kapuka) and Stew (Kennington), are full-time shearers and will be competing. Andrew’s
‘‘If we can keep the [prize] money up, we’ll get the good shearers.’’ Matt Mainland
partner, Kimberly Fortune, will help Carolyn in the office, while Stew’s wife, Pipi Mainland, is in his support team. Another of Matt and Carolyn’s sons, Rob, won the won the seniors’ shearing section at the Winton show before retiring. His wife, Kimberley, used to be a timekeeper for Winton shearing contests.
A fourth son, James, of Palmerston North, is not involved in shearing but his daughter, Gabby Mainland, 16, will help Carolyn and Kimberly in the office on Saturday.
Andrew will also being shearing at Five Rivers on Friday. He and his father have both won the Gore Shears title and South Island Senior Shearer of the Year.
Some of the country’s best shearers will be in action at Five Rivers and Winton, including Nathan Stratford and David Buick.
Matt Mainland said a goal of the Southland Shearing Committee was to maintain good prizemoney at the Winton competition. Prizemoney for the open grade totalled $4750, with the winner receiving $1500.
Money for prizemoney came from fundraising and sponsorship.
‘‘If we can keep the [prize] money up, we’ll get the good shearers,’’ Matt said.
Matt has nine siblings, including eight sisters.