Alexandra’s Pagan Rimene and Charis Morrell have established Morrell Crutching Services after buying two crutching trailers from Murray and Lizzie Kirk.
The sisters, whose father Dion Morrell is a respected figure in the shearing industry with an involvement that spans 50 years, have both made names for themselves in the industry.
At just 11, then pint-sized Charis was one of the heartwarming stories of the World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships in Invercargill in 2017 teaming up with her mother Gabriela Schmidt-Morrell to fill the void of woolhandlers in the Swiss team.
At the same event, Pagan was also a star, with the rare distinction of competing in both shearing and wool handling in the All Nations Competition. She has a host of other successes to her name.
In January, Pagan was one of four female shearers who set a world four-stand women’s eight-hours strongwool lamb record, shearing a total of 1938 lambs, at Melrose Station, near Owaka. She shore 481 lambs, nine months after major back surgery.
Then in March, at the world championships in Masterton, Charis again donned the Swiss colours and paired up with her mother to place third behind New Zealand and the Cook Islands in the teams woolhandling final.
The sisters recently bought the crutching trailers and Pagan said she had a lot of respect for Mr and Mrs Kirk who had put a huge amount of work into building their business and relationship with clients.
Sadly, Mr Kirk has a terminal brain tumour and the Omakau and wider Central Otago community, including shearing mates, have rallied around the Kirk family.
Pagan and Charis were previously involved in their father’s shearing contracting business, which he ran with Gabriela, and, when he sold part of his run to Scott Cameron, they continued to work for Mr Cameron who was supportive of their new venture.
Since leaving school, Charis had been working in sheds throughout New Zealand and Australia, as well as competing and learning how to shear. Her proud big sister said she did a ‘‘perfect’’ crutching job.
‘‘I’m very excited. There obviously wouldn’t be anyone else I’d rather do it [the crutching business] with. We’re a good team,’’ Charis said.
While the pair had different skill sets, they were both hands-on and enjoyed being on the trailer in the Central Otago sun. Charis was also following in her mother’s footsteps and doing the paperwork for the business.
Growing up in a contracting family, the industry was second-nature for both of them and Pagan, who has been shearing and crutching in the region for more than 20 years, knew many of the farmers.
The pair said their father was delighted with their new venture.
‘‘Dad is so excited, he thinks he’s going to be on the stand crutching next summer. We’re very lucky to have somebody with so much experience, he’s just wise about everything — mechanically, sheep-wise and helping us with the trailer. We probably owe him a couple of days wages,’’ Pagan said.
Pagan attributed her success over the years to being ‘‘super fussy’’, saying a high standard of work was something that had been instilled in her by her father. That was something she now expected from others, including her sister.
She helped her sister prepare for the world championships and Charis reckoned she would not have come third without Pagan’s mentoring. Achieving that placing was ‘‘the best experience ever’’.
Thinking back to her world championships debut in Invercargill, she said she remembered it clearly. Having competed in karate before starting in woolhandling competitions, she was used to performing on stage in front of people and she loved to do it.
Pagan, who was still keen to have a crack at some more records and to win an open Golden Shears event, said the industry was a great profession which had allowed her to travel the world.
She had shorn sheep in Scotland, England, France and nearly every state in Australia and from the bottom of the South Island to the top of the North Island.
‘‘You see some amazing places and meet so many cool people.’’
