Happy Heavenly Birthday to my Dad.
John-boy showed me the way to be a good Father, a good husband, instilled in me strong Union values and of course made me into the proud Collingwood supporting nuffy I am today.
Dad was working for the council by the time I arrived on the scene, but before that he spent many a year working the shearing sheds.
Sunday Too Far Away is a 1975 feature that provides a perfect snapshot of the life of a shearer. Jack Thompson is Foley, an absolute gun at this trade, who holds the record of most sheep cleared at each shed he has worked. He is pressured into taking a job for former shearer turned contractor Tim (Max Cullen) where he comes up against Arthur Black (Peter Cummins) a fellow gun who has his own records to defend.
Set against the backdrop of a looming strike, this captures the struggles of a life lived on the road, where financial gain is frittered away through boredom induced alcohol and gambling and balanced out by the solidarity and mateship, not to mention the (not so) friendly competition, which even extends to washing your clothes faster that your workmate.
The punch-on with the scabs is a thing of true beauty!
Have a great day up there John-Boy and Next year for the Pies!!
Happy Heavenly Birthday to my Dad.
John-boy showed me the way to be a good Father, a good husband, instilled in me strong Union values and of course made me into the proud Collingwood supporting nuffy I am today.
Dad was working for the council by the time I arrived on the scene, but before that he spent many a year working the shearing sheds.
Sunday Too Far Away is a 1975 feature that provides a perfect snapshot of the life of a shearer. Jack Thompson is Foley, an absolute gun at this trade, who holds the record of most sheep cleared at each shed he has worked. He is pressured into taking a job for former shearer turned contractor Tim (Max Cullen) where he comes up against Arthur Black (Peter Cummins) a fellow gun who has his own records to defend.
Set against the backdrop of a looming strike, this captures the struggles of a life lived on the road, where financial gain is frittered away through boredom induced alcohol and gambling and balanced out by the solidarity and mateship, not to mention the (not so) friendly competition, which even extends to washing your clothes faster that your workmate.
The punch-on with the scabs is a thing of true beauty!
Have a great day up there John-Boy and Next year for the Pies!!
