Shearing legend stays low key
Getting a knighthood doesn’t get you out of doing the household chores.
The dishwasher still needs to be loaded, Sir David Fagan says.
In fact, not much has changed for Sir David since he received a knighthood for services to shearing at the end of 2015.
‘‘My daughter and son sent me a card for Father’s Day. I had to laugh when I opened it. It had Sir Dad on it.’’
The card’s on the mantelpiece, but it’s the only tangible sign of his title.
The biggest difference was the media - so many wanted a piece of shearing’s poster boy.
He first picked up a pair of shears in the name of competition when he was 17, way back in the 1970s.
In the lead up to the announcement of his gong on New Year’s Eve, reporters from newspapers, television and radio trampled a path to his farm. All wanted to talk to this man who had been a major player in an international sport for decades.
‘‘That’s when it hit home that this was happening.’’
The media attention lasted a week, until the embargo was lifted.
Then there was a flurry of texts and phone calls from family and friends on the day of the announcement.
‘‘My phone was going nuts from six in the morning.’’
There have also been a few offers for speaking engagements.
But apart from that, the fuss has pretty much died down. He still goes down to his local to have a beer.
Low key, that’s the Kiwi way, isn’t it?
There have been a couple of events he has gone to where there are name tags saying Sir David and Lady Fagan for wife Wendy. Those made him squirm a little.
The best part was the ceremony at Government House in Auckland, because it was a chance for the whole family to get together - not just his immediate family, but his siblings, too.
‘‘We were able to get a nice big family photo. I don’t have many of those and we got the photographer to take a professional one.’’
The understated Kiwi bloke decided to accept the accolade in order to give the sport of shearing some recognition, plus some recognition for the wider rural community, and to create a legacy for his family.
Shearing is underrated as a sport in New Zealand, but remains a large part of our culture, he says.
It takes hard work, determination and is as challenging as any sport.
Those competing in it are as good as any athlete in the world, Sir David says.
‘‘There’s all this talk about what [national sport] awards I should and should not have got over the years, but none of it really matters now with the knighthood, does it?’’
The knighthood was all the validation shearing needed to make it a respected sport.
‘‘It will always be a small sport in New Zealand, but it’s a huge rural sport within a huge industry.’’
The world championships are going to be held in Invercargill in early 2017 and it will put a spotlight on the sport.
At 54, Sir David still has a lot of life to conquer.
‘‘Half the trouble when you have got an idea is you can’t sleep. I’m too excited about what is happening the next day.’’