A speed-shearing event at Clarks Junction next Saturday has a two-fold purpose - to bring the community together and to raise money for Lee Stream School.
The inaugural Lee Stream and Clarks Junction community speed shear is being held at the Clarks Junction Hotel on September 3 from 5.30pm.
Entries, which close at 5pm that day, were trickling in and there was a lot of discussion about the event, Lee Stream School Parent Teacher Association president Lucy Thomson-Ryan said.
Mrs Thomson-Ryan wanted to bring the fairly isolated rural community together while also holding a fund-raiser. It was hoped to raise money to go towards the school's swimming pool costs.
There were four classes - a teams event for four people which must include a woman and a child under 13, the Alan Nichol Memorial Cocky Classic for farmers who did not shear commercially, women's and open.
Mrs Thomson-Ryan hoped that, in addition to the local community, the wider Dunedin and Mosgiel public would also support the event, saying that many people did not realise "how wool comes off".
If the event proved as popular as organisers hoped, it could become a regular event.
There had been a "huge" amount of support from businesses, which had provided spot prizes.
It was all about having a good time and bringing the community together, with a little competition thrown in.
Mrs Thomson-Ryan was a relative newcomer to the area. Her husband Chris "Buzz" Thomson manages Lambhill Station, which is just under 6000ha and runs about 18,000 stock units.
Originally from Marlborough, the mother of three is a hairdresser by trade and is now studying extramurally through Massey University for a degree in accounting.