North Canterbury shearers urged to support shear-a-thon fundraiser

Shearer Mark Herlihy is doing his bit to raise awareness of suicide. Photo: Supplied

North Canterbury shearers are pitching in to raise awareness of suicide.

Mark Herlihy, who lost his brother to suicide two years ago, is rallying shearers for a 24 hour shear-a-thon on Friday and Saturday, March 23 and 24, to raise funds for various charities which support individuals and families with mental health challenges.

''Anybody who is willing to, can come along. They don't necessarily have to have the skills as we will have some instructors, so people can shear a sheep if they want to,'' Mr Herlihy said.

''We will need help with woolhandling and preparing food, and people can just turn up and support the shearers.''

Mr Herlihy is a professional shearer who moved to North Canterbury from Taranaki five years ago.

He said the goal was for local shearers to take turns so ''the machines will be running continuously'' for 24 hours, while there would be blade shearing as well.

''We will all do our bit and take our turns and get through it.

''It's a group of us running it and it should be a good event, and it's for a good cause.''

The event will finish with an auction on Saturday of items donated by local businesses.

The 24 hour shear-a-thon will be held at 33 Quarry Rd, White Rock, north of Rangiora, from 10am on March 23, with two local farmers supplying the sheep.

For more information or to volunteer, contact Mark on 027 395-512 or go to the 24 Hour Shear-A-Thon page on Facebook, where there is a link to a Givealittle page.

-By David Hill
Central Rural Life