Hollis Bennett

Mountain Wool

Hollis Bennett, John Huber

Every Spring, men and their teams of dogs head into the New Zealand high-country to muster up thousands upon thousands of sheep and bring them down-valley to shear them and bring their wool to market. The task is not for the faint of hearted and can only be completed on foot with a hill-stick in one hand, a pack of dogs at your command and the land stretching out before you. This task has been repeated year in and year out, every season, in an unbroken chain since the first sheep were brought to New Zealand in the late 18th century. Generation upon generation have taken to the hills to complete the task at hand but the numbers are dwindling - both the sheep that are raised and the men that look after them.