In the 40s and 50s sheep shearers Godfrey and Ivan Bowen developed the 'Bowen Technique', an innovative method involving rhythmical sweeps of the handpiece. The legendary Godfrey was described in The Guardian as having arms that "flow with the grace of a Nureyev shaping up to an arabesque". Here he runs through the 'blows' (strokes) designed to achieve "maximum speed, quality work with a minimum of physical effort". From the days when, as the narration says, "wool [was] so important to New Zealand's posterity ... and to the warmth of the world!"
Included in the Sheep Collection - September 2009.
fleece, sheep, ivan bowen, national film unit, shearing board, godfrey bowen, wool, rousie, shearing , wool board, roustabout, nfu, blows