The bitter industrial dispute over the use of wide combs to shear sheep is the focus of a new book and a public talk in Orange.
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Mark Filmer, a former Orange journalist, has documented the history of the dispute in his book Three Steel Teeth Wide Comb Shears and Woolshed Wars.
He will talk about the battles at Orange City Library on Wednesday November 6 from 5.30pm, Blayney Library on Monday November 18 at 11am and Cowra Library on Wednesday November 27 at 2pm.
Mr Filmer said shearers had traditionally used 64 millimetre-wide combs but in the early 1980s, a group of shearers mainly from New Zealand, wanted to use wider 86 millimetre combs with three extra teeth.
"This was significant because shearers were paid on the basis of how many sheep they shore, not how many hours they worked," he said.
A national shearers' strike lasting eight weeks was held in 1983.
Mr Filmer said the campaign to introduce wide combs was led by Robert White, a shearing contractor from Mandurama and opposed by the Australian Workers' Union.
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David Fitzsimons
I am a senior journalist at the Central Western Daily concentrating on council, government and real estate issues. Before moving to Orange I filled senior roles at the Daily Telegraph, Daily Telegraph-Mirror and the Daily Mirror in Sydney. They included being an editor, news editor, chief of staff and reporter.
I am a senior journalist at the Central Western Daily concentrating on council, government and real estate issues. Before moving to Orange I filled senior roles at the Daily Telegraph, Daily Telegraph-Mirror and the Daily Mirror in Sydney. They included being an editor, news editor, chief of staff and reporter.
