John Robert Howe (10 July 1861 – 21 July 1920) was a legendary Australian sheep shearer at the end of the 19th century. He shot to fame in pre-Federation Australia in 1892 when he broke the daily and weekly shearing records across the colonies.
Jack "Jackie" Howe | |
|---|---|
 Gravesite memorial inscription for Jack Howe in Blackall cemetery | |
| Born | 26 July 1861 |
| Died | 21 July 1920 (aged 58) |
| Occupation | Shearer |
| Known for | Sheep shearing |
Howe was considered one of the three wonders of Queensland, along with Eulo publican and personality Isabel Gray (c. 1851–1929), and the cook and Barcaldine hotelier Jimmy Ah Foo.[1][2]
Life
edit
Howe was born at Killarney near Warwick, Queensland. Jackie Howe's father, Jack Howe, was also a shearer and a clown with La Rosier's circus,[3] claiming to be the first clown to travel the Australian colonies, and was town-crier in Warwick.[4][5] His mother, Miss Stokes, was a lady's companion in 1840 at Canning Downs station and one of the first European women in the area, before marrying a second time to Jack Howe senior.[3] He grew up as a shearer around Warwick and the Darling Downs, before a short time at Tambo, trying gold prospecting.[3] It was there that he commenced professional shearing.[3]
Howe was active during the shearer strikes of the 1891[6] and 1894, and was a committed trade unionist.[7][8]
Later on Howe owned a public hotel, The Barcoo Hotel, in Blackall, Queensland.[5][when?] There is now a statue there of him holding a sheep.[9] He also at one time was a licensee of the Universal Hotel.[5] However publican life was not for him,[7] and he went onto purchase the property Shamrock Park, and then Summervale.[5]
After an extended illness, Howe died at Blackall in July 1920, leaving behind a widow, six sons, and two daughters.[5] After Howe's death, friend Queensland Premier T. J. Ryan[3] said, in a telegram to Howe's widow, "I have lost a true and trusted friend and Labor has lost a champion".[citation needed]
One son was John Henry Howe, but also known as Jack Howe.[5] He started as a chemist, but also went into shearing, and wrote a book on his father.[5] He later became a publican.[8] Another son, Leslie John Howe got married in March 1925.[10] The second son, Darsey John Howe, wed in September 1927.[11]
Shearing record
editHowe was described as being "one of the best physically built men in Australia".[5] Weighing about 14 stone (200 lb; 89 kg), he measured 47.5 inches (1,210 mm) around the chest and 26 inches (660 mm) around the thigh.[3]
On 10 October 1892, Howe had shorn 321 sheep in seven hours and 40 minutes at Alice Downs station, near Blackall, Queensland.[12] This was a faster tally than any other shearer had achieved before. In the week beforehand, Howe also set the weekly record, shearing 1,437 sheep in 44 hours and 30 minutes.[12] Howe's daily record was beaten by Ted Reick in 1950,[13] but Reick was using machine shears, while Howe's hand shears were little more than scissors.[5][3]
Legacy
edit
Jackie Howe is depicted by a bronze statue in Blackall.[citation needed]
After his death in 1920, a poem was penned in 1940 in his honour, as King of the shearers.[14]
In October 2015, Howe's record was reported as still unbeaten after 123 years.[15]
Howe became the name given to navy blue singlet tops.[16][17] According to legend,[citation needed] this is what Howe was wearing on the day he broke the shearing record. It has also been indicated in a woolshed, a big shearer took his shirt and snipped off the sleeves with a pair of shears, saying "I'll make a Jackie Howe of it", with the name associated since.[3]
References
edit- ↑ "The back country. A visit to Eulo. The Queen and Her Day". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 27, 472. New South Wales, Australia. 22 January 1926. p. 10. Retrieved 4 April 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "Famous ringers of the studs". Weekly Times. No. 3759. Victoria, Australia. 14 October 1939. p. 9. Retrieved 4 April 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "The Don Bradman of the Shearing Sheds—Jack Howe". Sunday Mail (Brisbane). No. 424. Queensland, Australia. 5 June 1938. p. 1 (Magazine section). Retrieved 4 April 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "Personal". Warwick Examiner And Times. No. 4473. Queensland, Australia. 6 September 1913. p. 5. Retrieved 18 January 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Barcoo seat". Warwick Daily News. No. 7315. Queensland, Australia. 8 January 1943. p. 2. Retrieved 4 April 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "Local and general news". Warwick Examiner and Times. Vol. 25, no. 1757. Queensland, Australia. 30 September 1891. p. 2. Retrieved 4 April 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
- 1 2 "The Barcaldine and General Budget". The Western Champion and General Advertiser for the Central-Western Districts. Vol. XLII, no. 1489. Queensland, Australia. 31 July 1920. p. 12. Retrieved 4 April 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
- 1 2 "Personal". The Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs Gazette. Vol. LXV, no. 174. Queensland, Australia. 22 July 1926. p. 4. Retrieved 4 April 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ The Day the Llama Spat in Jack Howe's Hair Archived 2006-05-01 at the Wayback Machine, Queensland heritage stories on abc.net.au Archived 1997-06-13 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 29 April 2006.
- ↑ "Blackall News". The Western Champion. Vol. XLVI, no. 1729. Queensland, Australia. 7 March 1925. p. 11. Retrieved 4 April 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "Blackall News". The Western Champion. Vol. XLVIII, no. 1862. Queensland, Australia. 24 September 1927. p. 10. Retrieved 4 April 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
- 1 2 "Shearing records". The Evening Telegraph (Charters Towers). No. 5751. Queensland, Australia. 27 May 1920. p. 2. Retrieved 4 April 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "New shearing record". The Riverine Grazier. New South Wales, Australia. 29 January 1952. p. 2. Retrieved 4 April 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "On the track". Townsville Daily Bulletin. Vol. LXII, no. 129. Queensland, Australia. 30 May 1940. p. 2. Retrieved 4 April 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "Legend of Jackie Howe lives on 123 years after shearing record". ABC News. 12 October 2015. Archived from the original on 5 March 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
- ↑ Jacky Howe Archived 2011-01-02 at the Wayback Machine, entry on Australian National Dictionary Centre website. Accessed 4 June 2007.
- ↑ "Echoes of the past". Balonne Beacon. Vol. 32, no. 33. Queensland, Australia. 12 November 1936. p. 8. Retrieved 4 April 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
Sources
edit- MacDougall, A. K., (2005), An Anthology of Classic Australian Folklore.