From farm to fame

IT may be every young shearer’s dream to reach the standard high enough to be nominated for the Australian Shearers Hall of Fame, but there are only a selected few who actually gain that honor. Euroa’s Bernie Walker is one noted shearer who has been selected to be inducted into the Hall of Fame (Hay, NSW) along with four other nominees for 2021; Ray Anderson (Crookwell NSW dec), Dan Cooper Snr (Perth, NSW/WA dec), Gene Mills (Young NSW), Cathy Wendelborn (Quilpie SA/Qld). Usually inductees are inducted at Easter every two years but this year’s selected few will have to wait until Easter 2022 to actually be inducted – all due to COVID-19 restrictions. Mr Walker has dedicated much of his life to Australian and World shearing over the past 66 years and has made a unique and outstanding contribution to the industry in Australia, New Zealand and worldwide. He has helped in creating a platform for others to progress their careers within the shearing industry and was instrumental in giving many shearers, wool handlers and judges the chance to represent Australia in competition both here and around the world. In the nomination for the Hall of Fame Mr Walker’s background highlights his years as a top shearer who started in the sheds at the age of 16 and initially rode a bicycle to the local sheds, to advancing and promoting shearing and the encouragement of young men (and in later years young women) to take up the profession. He shore an open run around the Euroa district from Violet Town to Ruffy, until 1968 when he retired from full time shearing to concentrate on farming. He had been shearing up to 18,000 and crutching up to 30,000 each year. Mr Walker was regarded as an exceptionally clean shearer and set a high standard for himself and others and averaged 160-180 each day – never a big tally shearer but noted for his care. He also shore at Golden Shears in New Zealand and when not shearing, he worked on the family farm which he took over in 1964 and continued to farm until 2006 when he formally retired. In 1971 Mr Walker was invited by Brian Morrison to join the local Apex Club team which was assisting at the Euroa Show shearing competitions. Apex was then invited to help set up a successful World Shearing Record attempt by Brian in the Euroa RSL Hall from which in turn, in 1974, saw the establishment of the Golden Shears competition in Euroa. To refine this competition for Australian conditions, Bernie travelled to New Zealand on a fact finding mission to see what was required to stage Golden Shears at Euroa. Apex (of which Bernie is a life member) continued to run the Euroa Show competition which attracted up to 160 individual shearers in four classes with a four-stand final for each. In addition, the Apexians provided the bulk of the workforce for Golden Shears when established. During the 11 years of staging the Golden Shears at Euroa, Mr Walker went to Masterton (NZ) 10 times seeking to further develop the event. Mr Walker also initiated the Euroa Shearing Association Encouragement Award in 1978 providing international experience for promising young Australian shearers which benefitted young shearers including Hall of Fame Inductee John Conlan. In 1977 Mr Walker, along with Colin Gilmour-Wilson (NZ), formalized the links between the two countries – Golden Shears Australia and Golden Shears NZ including the UK who also held a Golden Shears competition which led to the formation of Golden Shears World Council in Euroa in October 1980. Mr Walker has attended eight Golden Shears World Championships and was one of the Australian delegates to World Council 1980-2006. For more than 40 years Mr Walker judged SCFA and SSAA competitions in every state, including 10 Sports Shear National Championships, five Diamond Shears (Qld) and also the Jackie Howe Festival at Jondaryan (Qld), and was also invited to judge at World Championships and other international competitions but declined in favor of John Hanrahan, Stan Artridge and others to give them experience and a profile. Mr Walker was also a highly regarded world records society referee. Mr Walker has other talents than shearing, farming and the encouragement of young shearers. He is well known for his prose writing the profiles and the tribute poem for each induction ceremony for the Hall of Fame at which he presents a framed A3 copy to each inductee, at no cost to Shear Outback. He loves writing bush poetry, mostly relating to shearers, shearing and the industry, and has produced a CD which includes 15 of his own poems titled ‘The Ringer Remembers’. And in 2016 Mr Walker wrote and funded a 280 page history of Golden Shears in Australia which features more than 300 photographs and selected poetry – titled ‘A Test for the Best’ it records the true history of Golden Shears in Australia. He also contributed a 9000 word report about the Australian Golden Shears to the book ‘Shear History’ to celebrate the 50th year of golden shears in NZ. With the love of helping others, Mr Walker has assisted many other authors with their books providing poetry, photos, proof reading and advice including titles such as ‘In the Pursuit of Excellence (the Kevin Sarre story – Margaret O’Brien); ‘Shear Magic’ (the John Allan story – Margaret O’Brien); ‘top Class Woolcutters’ (Des Williams NZ); ‘Woolsheds’ (Andrew Chapman) and ‘Around the Sheds’ (Andrew Chapman). In recognition of all that Mr Walker has achieved over his lifetime he has received other accolades including Life Membership of the Apex Club of Euroa (1979), Patron of Sports Shear Australia (1997), Life Membership of Golden Shears World Council (2003) and an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for ‘Service to Shearing, and to the community of Euroa’ (2016). A worthy recipient of the Hall of Fame nomination and selection, Mr Walker is looking forward to his trip to Hay in 2022 when he will formally be inducted into this prestigious set, but said last week “I have written poems for each of the other four inductees, but not myself – that poem I have left to someone else.”