Sunnydale Shearing Shed Show, Big Bend by Night: On the Murray River in the Murraylands region of South Australia
The owners describe the Sunnydale Shearing Shed Show as a mix of the historical and hysterical. And it’s easy to see why when you see Cecilia the sheep walk down the catwalk.
We can assure you that no sheep were hurt in the making of this segment, although several may have been severely embarrassed.
But before you shed a tear for Cecilia, Elle, Feral Felicity and the rest, spare a thought for MC David Le Brun as the stars of his show turn the tables on the bloke who's trying to fleece them.
David's a shearer with a dickey knee - courtesy of a lifetime of country football. He's also the owner of Sunnydale, a mixed farm just out of Swan Reach on the Murray. It has the smallest shearing shed in the Mallee, which doubles as a demonstration area for an age-old rural craft.
“The shearers are making about a dollar seventy five I think, at the moment so to make a decent wage they've got to shear a hundred and eighty to two hundred a day. So there’s no messing around, they just shear em and get rid of em.”
Father and daughter team, David and Mardi keep the members of the audience entertained and also give them a quick insight into life on the land, the role of the wool classer and the raw energy of the saleyard auctioneer.
“At four dollars forty, sixty here, at four sixty, eighty now. At four eighty, five twenty for the flies. At five twenty now hope it was a serious bid madam. At five twenty now. At five dollars twenty the bid’s out there. At five dollars - she might win it now. At five dollars twenty, once, twice, at five twenty done and done. Well done Lisa you've got yourself a racing sheep... with flies.”
“I like the pink one.”
By late in the afternoon the tempo of the day slows down considerably as I hitch a ride to Big Bend, a classic part of the river. Soon we take in its beauty at dusk.
As the light fades, the cliffs towering above the river put on a spectacular show and it’s one to be savoured over dinner.
Soon we’re off on Big Bend by Night's evening show. We drive through the irrigated lucern and sorghum paddocks in search of local wildlife and there is plenty to be found - including kangaroos.
“A couple here are going to have a fight in a minute. He's just telling the other one he's the boss male - no muckin around with me. The female only mates with the strongest male. That one's just putting on a show of strength. The males really have to maintain their harem.”
As we motor through the paddocks there area a few pot holes to negotiate as the Southern Hairy-Nosed wombats tunnel their way through the mallee.
“They move pretty quickly and there are lots of them. They are indigenous to this area. They start about ten kilometres south of here and go through to about Morgan. Mainly on the limestone belt that runs through the area. The only other major population is on the Nullabor Plain.”
For a cocky like David it's a case of - if you can't beat'em join'em. The roos and wombats have caused a bit of grief but now they're a feature of his Big Bend by Night Tour.
“You have to live with them. It's marginal farming area and it's kangaroo and wombat country. So you have to live with them. We had a choice - we can either show them or shoot them and we'd rather not shoot them. So we hope we can show them and we hope a lot of people actually come and see them because they do look good in big numbers.”
In fact David's studied the animals and their warrens in depth, literally.
“They'll go and up down. Deep too, but they sometimes balloon out into really big rooms. We've climbed into a couple where you could fit five or six people quite easily in one room underground.”
But it was all above ground for me on what was a fascinating day at Big Bend by Night. You can contact David for bookings or email info@postcards-sa.com.au if you have any further questions. The shed and night tours are also included in Captain Cook River Cruises.
