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A defiant Miss Dawson (Lisa Peers), the station owner’s daughter, claims her reward for keeping quiet about Foley’s unauthorised raid on kitchen supplies, when he stole some lemon essence. She wants to watch the shearers at work, but women are not allowed in the shed.
Curator’s notes
Gives a good sense of the rigidity of boundaries within a heavily unionised profession, especially those dealing with gender. 'A meeting’ consists of the men gathering round for a perfunctory discussion, which is quickly resolved. The girl’s presence leads just as quickly to the men showing off. Note the extraordinary beauty and power of the long travelling shot as the camera glides past all the shearers at work. Compare this with the Tom Roberts painting 'Shearing the Rams’.
