Jack Howe
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Jack "Jackie" Howe (1861 or 1862–1920) was a legendary Australian sheep shearer at the end of the 20th century. He shot to fame in pre-Federation Australia in 1892 when he broke the daily and weekly shearing records across the colonies.
On 10 October 1892, Howe shore 321 sheep in seven hours and 40 minutes at the Alice Down station in Queensland, a faster tally than anyone had before achieved. In the week beforehand, Howe also set the weekly record, shearing 1,437 sheep in 44 hours and 30 minutes. Howe's daily record was beaten by Ted Reick in 1950, but Reick was using machine shears, while Howe's shears were little more than scissors. Howe's weekly record stands unbeaten as of 2005.
Howe was active during the shearer strikes of the 1891 and 1894, and was a committed trade unionist. In 1901, he retired from shearing and bought a pub in Blackall. In 1919 he bought a sheep station of his own, Sumnervale Station, but died the following year. After Howe's death, Queensland Premier Tom Ryan said, in a telegram to Howe's widow, "I have lost a true and trusted friend and Labor has lost a champion". Jackie Howe was the subject of a book, Jack Howe: The Man and the Legend, by Barry Muir, and a bronze statue, on display in Blackall.
Jackie Howe's father, Jack Howe, was also a famous shearer. In 1857, Jack Howe "overlanded" nine llamas from Sydney to the Darling Downs, then sheared them. The llamas' reaction to Jack Howe — spitting in his hair — is still celebrated in Queensland folklore today.
[edit] References
- MacDougall, A. K., (2005), An Anthology of Classic Australian Folklore.
- Blackall-related publications, including Jack Howe on the Blackall Shire Council website. Accessed 29 April 2006.
- Blackall Ambassadors, includes list of Howe-related achievements of Barry Muir. From Wanpa-rda Matilda Outback Education Centre website. Accessed 29 April 2006.
- "The Day the Llama Spat in Jack Howe's Hair", Queensland heritage stories on abc.net.au. Accessed 29 April 2006.
