When the train pulled up in the whistlestop town of Thallon, there was a truck waiting to convey us to the shed that our team was going to, dont remember how far that was now , but some distance,had to go through a town called Dirranbandi, and up there u could tell the size of the town by how many pubs in it, this one had two pubs.when we arrived at the shearers quarters there was a mad scramble to try and get the best room , the best bed and the best mattress, needless to say as far away as possible from the cook house,if one not want to be woken up by the din of pots and pans getting banged together in some ungodly hour of the night.or should I .say morning.

you must remember that in those days there was no power as we know it now

just an engine driving the power plant day and night, drive a bloke bonkers, I remember that these huts must have been designed for summer time ,not the middle of winter ,as the floorboards were set quite a distance apart, and boy did that wind whistle up through those cracks, nearly froze to death, I went up to the wool shed and borrowed a wagga blanket,( wool bale, in those days they were made from hemp ,) that kept me much warmer.

Also I had to buy a lot of gear as I had travelled lightly, a pair of shearing boots, now these were specially made for shearers as they had flat soles and also a flap to go over the instep to stop foreign matter getting into the boot, now days the shearers make their own out wool bales, much lighter ,we also had to supply our own combs and cutters, these were not cheap, in those days the owners had to supply the handpieces or as they are affectionately know, bogii or a lizard,and u can imagine how well kept they would be.

if the handpiece not running smoothly can get very hot as one would have to screw the tension down very tightly to get the machine to cut..........to be continued........