Bowen Shearing Technique

The Bowen sheep shearing technique is based on the work of Godfrey Bowen. Bowen was born and raised in New Zealand and went on to an international reputation for speed and efficiency in sheep shearing. His technique also produced cut wool of an even length that was more valuable than the uneven wool cut by other shearers. His efficiency in shearing sheep, along with an outgoing personality, made him an international ambassador for New Zealand and the sheep industry.

  1. The Bowen Sheep Shearing Technique

    • According to the Web site nzedge.com, Walter Godfrey Bowen was born in 1922 in Hastings, New Zealand. His initial desire to become a lawyer was sidetracked by the global economic depression of the 1930s. Instead, he and his brothers worked as farm laborers in both the dairy and sheep industries.

      While Bowen was an above average sheep shearer during his teens, it was after his service in the military during World War II that his talents in shearing sheep developed to their full potential. Godfrey Bowen would observe the methods of other shearers and then combine them to develop new and faster ways to shear the growing flocks of sheep in New Zealand. He enlisted the aid of his brother, Ivan Bowen, to test the new techniques. One of the brothers would use the new method while the other would use more conventional shearing methods as they worked side by side.

      Through this experimentation, the Bowen technique evolved. The primary feature of the technique is the use of the non-shearing hand to stretch the skin of the sheep tight. This allows long passes of the shearer, creating even cuts of the wool. These even lengths of the cut wool increase its value.

      The technique allowed the Bowen brothers to shear large numbers of sheep in a short time. On Jan. 6, 1953, Godfrey Bowen sheared 456 sheep in nine hours, setting a new world record. The next year he became an employee of the New Zealand Wool Board and served as an instructor on sheep shearing and as an ambassador for the New Zealand sheep industry.

      In that capacity he traveled the world, including a stop on "The Tonight Show" where he suggested that host Johnny Carson ̶0;have a go at shearing.̶1;

      Bowen wrote a number of books on New Zealand farming practices and sheep shearing. He died at the age of 72 in 1994.