William Smith (shearer) facts for kids

William "Deucem" Smith (1896–1947) was a super skilled Australian sheep shearer. He was so good that many people called him the best shearer of his time. He was known for his strong character and amazing talent with the shearing tools.

Life Story

Early Life and Nickname

Deucem was born in 1896 in Bourke, New South Wales, Australia. He was a member of the Muruwari Aboriginal tribe. This is one of Australia's many Indigenous groups.

He worked as a shearer across New South Wales and southern Queensland. He started in 1912 and continued until 1947.

The nickname Deucem came about in 1912. He boldly declared he would "deuce" (meaning out-shear) all the other shearers. This happened at the Dunlop shearing shed in Darling. He proved himself right!

Family Life

Deucem had five children: Bill, Val, Shirley, Larry, and Gordon. All of his sons followed in his footsteps. Their father taught them how to shear sheep.

Deucem spent his later years in Victoria. He kept using his famous nickname until he passed away in 1947. He has about 200 relatives living near Canberra. Many others live around Bourke and Brewarrina in New South Wales.

Amazing Shearing Skills

Deucem spent much of his career working in shearing sheds. These were places like Top Naas, Lanyon, Tuggeranong, and Uriarra.

He was known for his incredible shearing achievements:

• He always achieved high tallies (numbers of sheep shorn). This was even when the tough-to-shear Vermont Merino sheep were introduced.
• In 1936, he shore 290 stud merino two-tooth hoggets in one day. This happened at Mirrool Park, near Griffith. A "hogget" is a young sheep.
• He once shore 1430 sheep in just one week. He did this even with a broken right thumb!

His amazing skill was written about in an essay. It was called Champion Shearers of Australia by D'Arcy Niland in 1943. Niland wrote that Deucem was "rated as one of the greatest shearers in the world." He also said Deucem "eclipsed records and cleaned up the best of his natural competitors." He was seen as more than a champion, almost like a "phenomenon."

Lasting Legacy

Hall of Fame

In April 2005, Deucem was honored in a special way. He was inducted into the Australian Shearer's Hall of Fame in Hay, NSW. He was the first Aboriginal person to receive this honor. The Hall of Fame celebrates shearers who have amazing skill and have greatly helped the shearing industry. His family gave his Hall of Fame silver shears trophy to the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.

Public Recognition

In June 2006, Deucem's skill was recognized with a special plaque. The plaque was unveiled by the ACT Chief Minister, Jon Stanhope. This plaque is part of the Canberra Heritage Trails project. It tells the story of Canberra from the time of the Ngunnawal people onwards.

Future Projects

A documentary about Deucem's life is being made. It is currently in the early stages of production. His great-grandson, Benjamin Smith, is producing it. Benjamin is also working on a movie script about his ancestor's life.