Brian Lea, from Birchip, has been shearing sheep for almost six decades, and shares his highlights

Birchip’s Brian Lea has been harvesting wool for 58 years — and he still hasn’t beaten his father’s record. Here’s why he loves the job.

Shear determination, perfection and a love of what he does typifies Birchip’s Brian Lea.

Two years as a bank officer was enough to convince Brian that it wasn’t his future, so he joined his late father Tom in the shearing sheds.

Tom had a shearing career spanning 62 years so Brian, in his 58th year of wool harvesting, still has a few years to go yet before he beats his father’s mark.

Brian Lea Brian Lea is a born and bred Birchip — a Mallee Boy. Brian is in his 76th year and is still shearing. Pictures: Zoe Phillips

And he said all the skills he has in shearing can be attributed to his father, who taught him the right way to do it.

“My father taught me to work hard and enjoy life at the same time, and that’s exactly what I’ve done,” Brian said.

Never one to rush, Brian likes to shear about 100 sheep a day and work alone, and he has a long list of clients who are happy to work in with his rationale.

Brian and his late father combined have been shearing for 109 years in the district.

“I’ve never been in to records or keeping tallies, more than I like to look out over the sheep I’ve shorn after a run and see they are looking good and well shorn,” he said.

His career highlight came when he joined the 175-year celebrations at the famed Bungaree Station at Clare, South Australia, where he took his shearing gear “just in case he could shear a couple of sheep”.

“I asked and was able to shear four or five sheep at smoko and that was really special,” Brian said.

“But then the contractor lost one of his shearers and asked if I’d like to take up the stand – I did a whole day’s shearing in that historic shed, and it was a real highlight.”

Brian, being an avid photographer, has over the past weeks had a photographic exhibition of 100 photos of him shearing on display at the local railway station.

In nearly six decades of shearing, Brian said the two biggest changes were the introduction of the shearing harness “which makes you feel like you a shearing in an arm chair”, and the wide combs “when I couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about”.

There’s still demand for Brian’s skills, and he likes to work a few days a week and then have a few days off.

“One of the people where I shear said that if I was still standing, I still had to be shearing for him and I love the interactions I have with people, so while I stay fit, I’ll keep doing it,” he said.