Country Calendar - Blow by Blow (Godfrey Bowen)

Champion shearer Godfrey Bowen returns to Akers station at Opiki, Manawatu where he set a world record in 1953 by shearing 456 sheep in nine hours (shown in archive footage). He shows off his biceps (not far from the 23 inches they used to be) and explains the Bowen Technique which revolutionised shearing by reducing the number of blows required to remove a fleece. Bowen talks about how his life changed (travelling the world and an MBE) and there's footage of Agrodome with its trained sheep, which he opened in Rotorua, with his brother Ivan.

From being just an ordinary guy from Te Puke in the Bay of Plenty, overnight I seemed to become a New Zealand or national personality.

– Godfrey Bowen

Key Cast & Crew

Gillian Thomas

Director

Howard Taylor

Producer

Peter Clark

Sound

Norm McPherson

Editor

Andrew Coleman

Camera