MERINO MUSTER AT THE SNOW FARM

For almost 80 years, the high country of Waiorau Farm, now home to Snow Farm NZ and the annual Merino Muster cross-country ski racing event, was a working merino sheep farm.

Merino sheep are known for their sustainable wool and its warm and fire-protective properties. Merino sheep would graze the Waiorau Farm on the Pisa Range over the summer months and be brought down to lower pastures during the winter months. Then, in spring, their wool would be removed by a shearing gang and sold, and the cycle would continue.

The act of moving the sheep down from the top of the mountain before winter is called ‘mustering’. The musterers used specially-trained dogs and a group of people to bring the sheep down off the high elevations en masse before the snow came. As was often the case, one muster was not enough, and any sheep that were missed in the initial muster would be gathered in another muster using a smaller amount of people called a ‘straggle muster’.

Then, after the snow fell, if some sheep were still missing but could be located, these would be brought down in what’s known as a ‘snow rake’. This act often only involved a handful of very clever sheep who had evaded their musterers.