Whether it was in the blood or just catching like a virus, the desire to work in the shearing sheds had gripped both men.
Denis’ career had taken him to many of the big sheds in Victoria and NSW between 1968 and 2018, when he was recognised by the Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX).
His forays into NSW took him to the big sheds where he learned to work under pressure, with 300 to 320 fleeces coming at him on every run.
It’s the job of the wool classer to examine the fleeces taken from the sheep and grade them.
Separating the fleeces into the right category was an essential part of the job and downgrading a fleece that wasn’t up to standard was also his task, even though he was working under pressure.
He soon learned to class as he was taught and not to listen to the owner standing beside him.
At a Corriedale clip near Casterton, he was pushing too much wool into the fines line, hence mixing his counts too much, resulting in a complaint from the regulating authority, the AWEX.
He was instructed to submit three clips for inspection and passed the test.
“You had to be hard, but it was about doing the right job.”
Among the sheds he worked were Beilpajah and Eldorado in the Ivanhoe area, Steam Plains and Toocambie near Hay, Wargam near Lockhart and up at Cogie Station near Cargelligo and Roto Station near Hillston.
The demand for superfine wool reached a peak in the 1980s and 1990s, with Italian fine suit designers and Japanese companies vying for the best and Denis witnessing a dramatic moment for the wool industry.
He recalls sitting next to the owner of a promising bale of wool at VPC auctions in Geelong in the 1980s, when the bidding raced through the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and finally stopped at more than $1 million.
“Everyone though it would get good money, but no-one knew it was going to reach one million,” Denis recalled.
His family's connection with the wool industry goes back to 1936 when his father, Stan, at only 15 years of age, signed up for a three-year wool-classing course at the Gordon Technical School in Geelong.
He served in World War II then went on to take up sheep farming using the knowledge he gained in the wool-classing course, and only retired from the profession at the age of 60.
Son Denis decided he would try his hand at wool-classing and signed up for the same course his father had completed in 1966, exactly 30 years after his dad.
Following his graduation at the top of his class, Denis went on to gain experience in big sheds handling 10,000 to 20,000 sheep, eventually working across three states and in the 1980s moving into contracting.
“My wool-classing background helped me get into a lot of fine wool sheds which I enjoyed the challenge of classing and splitting up the microns in those days, getting 4000 to 5000 cents per kilogram based on the micron count.
“They were the good years with the fine wool growers making some money.”
Denis retired in 2018 and is now living in Echuca.