The 24-hour Mega Shear by Brett Cameron on August 31 is for a cause close to his heart – Multiple Sclerosis (MS). With a close family friend being diagnosed recently, Brett, or Camo to his friends, wanted to support the family any way he knew how, in this case, by shearing sheep for 24 hours. Coming from a farming background and being a fourth generation Cameron to live in the area, Camo is no stranger to shearing. He has established a Committee of eight people to help him organise the event, with an auction, band, DJ, ‘Celebrity Shear’ and lamb roast BBQ being organised for the night and an amount of $10,000 hopeful to be raised.
“Ten thousand dollars is a figure that I thought I could get to, with money being raised already from selling singlets and online donations,” said Camo.
“Having a truck driver background should help me to stay awake throughout the night, with the regular shearing breaks in between.”
When asked what motivated him to create such an event, Camo said, “I was shearing last year in the shed at my parents’ house which was built by the late Ben Hiscox and was thinking about what I could do for the cause. Shearing is something that I can do and I thought, why not make it for 24 hours.”
Camo says he has 400 of his parents’ sheep organised for the event, with an expectation of between 300 and 400 to be shorn by the end of the 24 hours. The wool will be going to auction down in Newcastle, where it will be sold and then put up for sale again, with the money donated to MS.
The auction during the Mega Shear is set to be a big one, with donations from Landmark, Sport UNE, McDonalds Armidale, Durox, Ivomec, Elanco, the Wicklow Hotel, Bundaberg Rum, Hannas, Burton’s Saddlery, Foxtel, Guyra Ghosts Rugby, Uralla Wool Room, New Birds Boutique Walcha, Richardson’s Hardware and Agriculture, Walcha Veterinary Supplies, Frog Crossing Walcha, Barbeques Galore, Funk, Petersons Winery, Guyra Fuels, Margret Shuttleworth, Michelle Cameron, Novartis, Elders Walcha, Jason Hiscox, Mitchell Hiscox, James Hoskins and Sam Barnier.
Camo is hoping for a mega turnout on Friday, August 31, with the SES helping with parking and entertainment during the night organised for Camo’s breaks, by band Terra Firma playing from 6-11pm followed by DJ Chop late into the night.
The shearing starts at 7.30am on August 31, going throughout the night till 7.30am on September 1 at ‘Lansdale’, 388 Cluny Road, Armidale, which is approximately 8km from the CBD.
There will be attendees from every college at UNE, and lots of supporters from in town and surrounds as well. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see money raised for MS in such a unique way, with Camo saying that the best time for people to arrive would be around 5-6pm Friday afternoon. He would like to thank all sponsors, supporters, volunteers and anyone else who has con-tributed to this event.
Families will be well looked after, so feel free to bring the kids.
