Organisers of Shear for Life have raised about $150,000 for two Mid Canterbury based charities.
Ashburton Cancer Society and Hospice Mid Canterbury will each receive a share of the final tally, expected to be known later this month.
It was held at the Ewing family farm, at Hinds, on Saturday.
The event, first held in 2019, was the brainchild of Ashburton shearer Rocky Bull, in remembrance of absent friends lost to cancer.
Event organiser Sandra Curd said Shear for Life had garnered huge support – among shearers and the community – and surpassed past efforts. It raised $90,000 in 2019.
She said differences included favourable weather conditions and new family area which included kiddie train rides, a GellyBall play area, inflatables, facepainting, and food sites.
Members of Ashburton Creative Fibre showed their crafts with wool and there was live music, a monster auction and raffles.
‘‘The whole event was very overwhelming and certainly surpassed the event we had in 2019,’’ Curd said.
‘‘We got such a great day on Saturday and we also had incorporated the family area which wasn’t part of 2019.
“It was so great to see all those families out there enjoying what we had, but also the number of people who came to support us.’’
Among those attending were shearing legends Sir David Fagan, Tom Wilson and John Hough, and All Black legends Jock Ross and Billy Bush, to name a few.
Shearers from Australia and throughout New Zealand took turns on the stands during the eight-hour day attempting to shear 3000 lambs.
‘‘They didn’t quite get there. They got close,’’ Curd said.
Doing their bit were Kurow shearer Ali Emslie, and Oamaru shearers Murray Johnston, Jimmy Hunter, and Donald Johnston.
The four, all longtime shearers, were involved at the last event in 2019.
‘‘They’re good, they’re flyers. A good shearing lamb,’’ Donald said.
