thing happened. Bob knew what this meant: the third time he would have got the sack. He improved his style at once, and to his surprise, he found this did not lower his tallies. He never tried rough shearing again.

Cowards Modern Conditions At the beginning of the century, when Bob Tutaki began shearing, shed and working conditions were very much worse than today. Both the sleeping quarters and the food left much to be desired, one of the main bones of contention being that whereas station owners all provided bread and meat, they were not compelled to provide anything else. Particularly butter was a food the lack of which was often severely felt; a hard-working shearer needs a lot of it. Bob Tutaki tells a story of one shed where conditions were particularly poor: nothing to sleep on except bad straw, no room for eating, and no privies at all. Evidently the owner of this shed had some difficulties in finding shearers and Bob and his gang were only diverted to it at the last moment to help the farmer out. Mr Tutaki tells how, after seeing the conditions, he worked out his own plan of campaign. On the first day, the farmer checking on the work of the gang, found that Bob himself had left the heads of some of the sheep unshorn. Very irate, the farmer led them back, what was the meaning of this? ‘Never mind about those sheep. You can shear their heads yourself if you like’, said Bob. Mr Robert Tutaki. (Russell Orr Photo.) ‘So you want me to turn out a complete job, do you?’ The farmer indicated that that was indeed what he expected. ‘But what about you? Do you turn out a complete job? Look at that fallen down shed where we have to live. When you came round this morning you saw where we were sitting. We were eating outside, on the grass. You know why that was: it was because there is no room inside our quarters to have a meal. And what did you give us? Nothing except tea, bread and meat. Yet you had your own breakfast inside, with jam and butter, and in comfort. And did you have a look at the straw on which we had to sleep? It was damp. If you turn out a complete job, I shall do the same.’ The effect of this, said Bob, was electric. For the rest of that stay, the shearers all had their meals in the kitchen and a few hours after their conversation a truck arrived outside the shearers' quarters carrying new mattresses and other supplies. The struggle for better conditions became Bob's preoccupation. Joining the Agricultural and Pastoral Union in 1906, he became one of the pioneers of unionism of pastoral workers in his district. The first shearers' award in New Zealand dates from 1902 and is based on an agreement between the sheep-owners and shearers of Canterbury. Otago followed suit soon after.

First Wellington Award It was not until 1908 that the first Wellington Shearers' Award was negotiated. On the side of the shearers, the advocates were C. Graindler, R. Eddy, Jack Townsend, Arthur Cook and Bob Tutaki. The list of persons, firms and companies with which these representatives entered into agreement occupies twenty-eight pages of print. A breach of award by any party was made punishable with up to a £100 fine. This provision is still in force in respect of unions, associations and employers; the maximum fine for workers is now £10. In essentials, this first agreement already contained most of the conditions of today. The shearing rate was then £1 per hundred sheep, double for rams, and stud sheep by mutual agreement. It was laid down that the dining room should be lighted until 9 p.m., that the owner was to supply implements, free grazing for one horse, and a sufficiency of good food, including jam and 1 ¼ lbs. weekly (today it is 1 ½) of the contested butter. This last point was a bit of a victory, for in the 1902 Canterbury award there was no mention of butter and in the 1906 Canterbury award only 1 lb. was specified. One difference was that in those days there was no limitation to the number of learners to be admitted (this gradually came in until now only one learner is allowed to five shearers). Also, there was only one shearers' representative in a shed