Jackie Howe

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Jack "Jackie" Howe

Born 26 July 1861(1861-07-26)
Killarney, Queensland
Died 21 July 1920 (aged 58)
Occupation Shearer
Known for Sheep shearing

Jack "Jackie" Howe (26 July 1861 (?) – 21 July 1920) was a legendary Australian sheep shearer at the end of the 19th century. He shot to fame in pre-Federation Australia in 1892 when he broke the daily and weekly shearing records across the colonies.

Howe was born at Killarney near Warwick, Queensland. 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 hand shears were little more than scissors. Howe's weekly record stands unbeaten as of 2005.[1]

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 at Blackall. 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.[2]

[edit] Clothing

Jackie Howe became the name given to navy blue singlet tops.[3] According to legend, this is what Jackie was wearing on the day he broke the shearing record. They are still popular today among Aussie males young and old. The name "Jackie Howe," however, is losing popularity to the American term, wifebeater.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Gibbney, H. J. (1983). Howe, John Robert (1861? - 1920). Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
  2. ^ The Day the Llama Spat in Jack Howe's Hair, Queensland heritage stories on abc.net.au. Accessed 29 April 2006.
  3. ^ Jacky Howe, entry on Australian National Dictionary Centre website. Accessed 4 June 2007.

[edit] References