Black and white print of a photograph, original having been mounted on cardboard, of a group of men in military uniformsWritten at left side on mount: "Jim Downs"jim downs, soldiers, world war 1, world war i, ww1, wwi

Black and white photograph, mounted on cardboard, of 25 young men in military uniform.Written on mount to the left of the photo: "Jim Downs" with a mark on photo pointing to man on far left, second row.soldiers, world war i, world war 1, ww1, wwi

Howard James "Jim" Learmoth started his working career as an apprentice toolmaker with H.V. McKay Massey Harris in 1941. He worked for 36.5 years at this factory, his entire working life before leaving in 1977, as the Massey Ferguson factory personnel officer. In 1977, Massey Ferguson was downsizing the Sunshine factory, and many employees lost their jobs at the factory, including "Jim". These documents detail his working career which include a reference letter from the Metal Workers Union which held him in high respect. "Jim's" brothers all served in the armed forces during WW2, whereas "Jim" was exempted from serving in the arm forces as he was working in a protected industry.This document captures in detail the employment life of Howard James "Jim" Learmonth.5711.01 - Howard James 'Jim' Learmonth Employment Reference Documents - To Whom It May Concern Page 1.jpg 5711.01 - Howard James 'Jim' Learmonth Employment Reference Documents - To Whom It May Concern Page 2.jpg 5711.01 - Howard James 'Jim' Learmonth Employment Reference Documents - To Whom It May Concern Page 3.jpg 5711.02 - Howard James 'Jim' Learmonth Employment Reference Documents - Metal Workers Union Reference.jpg howard james "jim" learmoth, h.v. mckay massey harris, massey ferguson

Banjo Paterson once wrote, ‘The musterers are fetching them a hundred thousand strong’. Well, not quite 100,000 strong, but there are 75,172 mixed age Riverina-bred merino wethers in this mob mustered for shearing on January 22, 1988. The sheep were owned by the Mountjoy family from Geelong Victoria and were running on Puckapunyal Army Base near Seymour in Central Victoria on which the family held the grazing lease. Contractor for the shearing, Jim Walker, Avenel, Victoria, former Australian shearing team captain in 1974-75 and 1978-79, recalls there were up to 21 shearers in his team waiting for the red eyes to arrive despite the mid-summer heat of up to 38°C and the blinding dust on windy days. Jim Walker thinks there may also have been some sheep in the mob from Portland Downs and Isis Downs near Isisford in Central Queensland. The biggest shearing he did at ‘Pucka’ was 87,087 shorn in 1988. The ‘Pucka’ base was established during WW1. During the Second World War the Second Australian Imperial Force trained there as well as the US Army 41st Infantry Division. It was also home to the 1st Armoured Regiment from 1949 until 1995. During the 1950s up to 4000 national servicemen at any given time were training there. In the 1980s the Army undertook a major 60,000-acre land rehabilitation programme as decades of heavy use had led to serious degradation. By 1988 when the photo was taken, further land acquisition had increased the area to just under 100,000 acres, 43,000 of which is still bush country. There are no sheep there now, and the old shed was bulldozed and burnt. There are thousands of kangaroos which of course don’t need to be shorn and would be hard to muster and hold for a similar photo. Colour photograph, 75,172 merino wethers, mustered for shearing at Puckapunyal in 1988.shearing merino sheep, mountjoy, mr dale - worungalla pastoral co., shearing, merino sheep