'Shearing the Rams': The Path to Nationhood

In this chapter I relate the iconic Australian painting Shearing the Rams - by Britishborn impressionist and figure painter Tom Roberts - to the growth of the all-important Australian wool industry. I also relate the painting to the development of trade union organization in an industry that was inherently hard to organize and that was to experience violent strikes just after the artwork was completed. Shearing the Rams was painted in the Brocklesbury Station shearing shed located on a property not far from the township of Corowa on the Murray River that formed part of the border between the colonies of New South Wales and Victoria. At this time there was unrest about the payment of duties on trade across colonial borders and a growing desire to cut loose from Britain's apron strings. This unrest culminated in the Corowa Conference that was to set Australia on the path to federation. By 1901 the First Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia was opened, and Tom Roberts was to paint a great artwork illustrating that event. This now hangs in the foyer of the Main Committee Room of Parliament House in Canberra.