Australian
Screen

Teacher’s notes

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This clip shows Foley the 'gun’ (champion) shearer (Jack Thompson), Arthur Black the newcomer (Peter Cummins), and Jim the learner (Graham Smith) in a shearing shed. At exactly 7.30 am, Tim King the shearing contractor (Max Cullen) sounds the gong and the day’s shearing commences. Jim cuts his sheep and is almost thrown off the job, but Foley stands up for him and he is given a second chance. Arthur and Foley race each other, and the clock, for the highest tally before Tim sounds the gong again at 9.30 am.

Educational value points

• The clip is from Sunday Too Far Away, a film about the shearing industry in Australia. Filmed on location at Carriewerloo Station near Port Augusta in rural South Australia in 1974 (but set in 1955–56) the film is based on an industry that helped shape Australia’s national identity, both culturally and economically. It is often said that Australia 'rode on the sheep’s back’ and because of the availability of large areas of grazing land and the great demand for wool from overseas markets, Australia enjoyed a long period of economic prosperity. Although still the world’s largest producer of wool, Australia no longer derives the same level of export income from the wool industry.

• Shearing is a physically demanding occupation requiring a high degree of skill. There is pressure on shearers not only to shear large numbers of sheep in a limited time but to compete with one another, with their scores being displayed. Shearers are paid per sheep shorn and typically shear 100 per day, although a gun shearer, or 'ringer’, (the shearer who consistently holds the record for the highest tally of shorn sheep) can shear up to 200 a day. Factors influencing the number of sheep shorn include the technology used, shearing conditions, and the type, size and sex of the sheep.

• In the 1950s shearers worked long hours each day, mostly in poor conditions. The corrugated-iron shearing sheds were very hot during the warmer months and lacked basic facilities. Shearers’ health frequently suffered and injuries were common, with backs particularly vulnerable due to the hours spent bent over.

• Shearing is a male-dominated industry, and shearers are itinerant workers who travel from one property to the next during the shearing season. The title of the film, together with its tagline, 'Friday too tired, Saturday too drunk, Sunday too far away’, comes from the poem The shearer’s wife’s lament, which refers to how little a shearer’s wife would see of her husband. Some wives and families did accompany their men, however, often working as domestic help on the sheep station.

• The shearing methods and machinery used in the industry in the 1950s are shown in the clip. In 1956, basic machine clippers with a narrow comb handpiece were used. After a 10-week strike in 1983, wide combs were introduced, enabling sheep to be shorn more quickly. One of the most significant advances in shearing technology is a machine that turns the sheep and holds it in position, allowing it to be shorn more easily and reducing the intensity of shearing labour.

• The character of Foley presents an image of the Australian male as a hard-working and well-meaning 'bloke’. He displays many qualities generally considered typical of the 'Australian identity’, such as a larrikin humour, a sense of mateship, a belief in a 'fair go’, a competitive spirit, a taciturn nature and an irreverent attitude to authority. The positive portrayal of these stereotypical characteristics is, however, at odds with another view of shearers as brawling, hard-drinking and foul-mouthed womanisers or, as expressed by one pastoralist, 'a most contemptible lot of roughs’.

• Sound and camera techniques contribute effectively to the narrative and build tension. Silence and slow camera shots create a sense of reflection and stillness before the activity of the working day. The gradual increase in mechanical sounds, together with the minimal dialogue, help build tension in the scene.

• Sunday Too Far Away is an important Australian film, the first feature film to be supported by the South Australian Film Corporation (established in 1972). Directed by Ken Hannam, the film was a popular and critical success, winning Best Film, Best Actor in a Lead Role and Best Actor in a Supporting Role at the 1974–75 Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards. It was the first Australian film to be selected for the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes (1975). Thirty minutes of the original film were cut by producers, and some critics suggest the removal of important subplots might have diminished the story. The 'director’s cut’ has never been made available to the public.

Foley walks towards an old man who is rolling a cigarette inside the shearer’s shed.
Foley How are you feeling this morning?
The old man licks his cigarette, winks and nods at Foley and walks away. Foley takes off his jumper and prepares for work. We see other shearers in the shed and the sheep waiting to be sheared. Jim leans on the fence. The contractor, Tim, checks his watch and strikes a gong when it reaches 7.30. All the shearers go into a pen and grab a sheep to shear, including Foley. Tim sharpens the shearing tools.
Shearer (to Jim) You’ve got to sew him up, son.
Jim has accidentally cut a sheep, which is bleeding. Tim walks over to Jim.
Tim Get out of it. Son, you wrote that you had shorn 5,000 sheep. You haven’t done five. What were you? A rousey? (Jim nods.) Pack your things and get out.
Foley Tell the kid how you got your first shed, Tim. I’ve got a contractor like the rest of us.
Tim Just take your time and don’t cut him to pieces.
Jim Thanks, Mr King.

Foley and Arthur continue shearing as fast as they can. Arthur looks at the clock and sees that it is 9.30 and carries on shearing. Foley goes to grab another sheep to shear but Tim rings the bell to signal a break. Foley reaches for some water and looks behind at Arthur only to see him still shearing.