shearers back: its said australia became prosperous on the sheeps back. the ngarla songmakers arent described as shearers, but they all worked with sheep and or cattle in one way or another -- all station workers at some point except one who worked in a slaughter yard. an interesting juxtaposition of photos can be seen in ian macleans 'white aborigines: identity politics in australian art' pp 62-3. the left image is a photo of aboriginal shearers shearing c. 1906. on the right is a reproduction of tom roberts' 'the golden fleece - shearing at newstead' 1894, which is a scene of white shearers. (it can be seen at the art gallery of nsw.) the images are strikingly similar. the most obvious difference is the difference between the roofs & the way the light blurs into the photograph but is held at bay in the painting. another difference is that several of the aboriginal shearers are looking out of the picture toward the viewer (ie looking at the camera), while the white shearers are all looking down at their work. the only ones looking toward the painter are the wool classers(?) & possibly one other at the back who isnt working.

maclean says there was an increase in aborigines employed in the pastoral industry from over 2000 in 1881 to 4000 by 1905. he says 'employed' was a euphemism for slavery. hence the strikes that took place much later (1946).

maclean writes 'The image of Aboriginal shearers was too transgressive to be considered an icon of the nation at the time of Federation.' [i.e. 1901]

click go the censoring shears.