Are ewe joking? Shearers short of sheep in Northland

Shearing veteran Rusty Campbell, 79, has barely missed a show in the North in the past 50 years. Photo / File

The long-time organiser of the first of New Zealand's northernmost shearing competitions of the summer is determined the events will survive despite a shortage of shearers after the decline in the sheep population north of Auckland.

Richard Tylden runs the Kaikohe Agricultural, Pastoral and Horticultural Society's shearing competition, which will be held this Saturday at the Kaikohe Showgrounds and has a big stake in the history of the event.

He's been involved since 1979 when he stepped into the breach at a day's notice after an organiser's relative was killed in the Erebus disaster, but the family history dates back at least another 20 years to when his father and uncle built the original facilities for the shearing competition when the show was held at the recreation ground in Kaikohe in the late 1950s.

"We've got a top-class four-stand facility now," he said.

"We've been through the sheep-numbers thing, we've managed to keep going, and we will keep going. I don't see why not."

In the peak years, about 500 sheep were mustered for the competition, but he expects just 200 lambs will be needed for Saturday's junior, intermediate, senior, open and veterans shearing events.

It still has the potential to present top up-and-coming shearers, as it did in 2012 when Kaeo brothers Bevan, Bryce and Charlie Guy won the Open, Intermediate and Junior events respectively, and 2001 when the Junior runner-up was Ruawai youngster Rowland Smith, in his first final on a path that culminated in his crowning as world champion last May.

The shows have some stalwarts in veterans headed by 79-year-old Rusty Campbell, who has rarely missed a show in the north during the past half-century.

Others are Ken Massey and Rex Salisbury, both now in their 70s, and who with Campbell will make another pilgrimage to compete at the Golden Shears in Masterton in the first week of March.

Among others who've helped the contest survive is King Country veteran Digger Balme, who made the 400km-plus journey last year for a family double in which he and son Josh won the Open and Junior titles respectively.

Fears for the future of Northland shearing competitions blossomed with the demise of shearing at the Kumeu show.

The only Shearing Sports New Zealand A-graded show north of Auckland, it has been held in the second weekend of March in recent years, attracting the stars from the Golden Shears a week earlier.

Saturday's shears are scheduled to start at 10am.

For more information on the Kaikohe Agricultural, Pastoral and Horticultural Society show check out www.kaikoheshow.org.nz.

-The northern shearing competitions this summer are:

January 10, Kaikohe AP&H Show; January 24, Warkworth A&P Show; February 7, North Kaipara A&P Show, Paparoa; February 14, Northern Wairoa A&P Show, Dargaville; February 21, North Hokianga A&P Show, Broadwood; April 3-4, Northern Shears, Auckland Easter Show.