A BIT ABOUT US, OUR FAMILY AND OUR BUSINESS
Shearing Is In The Blood
McSkimming Shearing has been proudly operating out of Kurow since November 2023, when Willy and Tess took over the reins from Grant and Sharlene Murdoch.
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Willy was born into the shearing world—he’s had sheep shit on the brain since day one. Starting out as a wool handler at just 13, he worked his way through the ranks: pressing, shearing, and eventually contracting. His experience doesn’t stop there—he’s also spent time training shearers and worked for three years as a technical field rep for Heiniger, giving him a solid grounding across nearly every role the industry offers.
Tess hails from a rural farm in the King Country and first entered the sheds as a wool handler. Over the years, she’s worn many hats—cooking, managing calls, and handling the paperwork while she and Willy ran their shearing business in Taumarunui.
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Shearing runs deep in the McSkimming family. Willy’s father, Murray, was a trailblazer in the contracting industry, running a large operation out of Alexandra that serviced Central Otago during the 1960s and '70s. His brother, Lane, also ran a successful shearing run in the King Country.
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Willy and Tess met in the sheds around Taumarunui while working for Lane. After a few years of travelling, they bought the Taumarunui business from him in 2005 and ran it until 2020. Not long after, they moved south to Oamaru to raise their family—and the rest, as they say, is history.
Our Business is Your Business
We absolutely love the shearing industry and the incredible variety of people it brings together. It’s bloody hard work, but we thrive on it—and we’re proud to foster a hardworking, fun, and family-oriented crew.
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We’ve got a simple rule: No wankers. That goes for everyone—on the job and off. We expect mutual respect, good attitudes, and a team-first mindset across the board, from staff to management.
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Communication is at the heart of what we do. We’ll always keep you in the loop about what’s happening and where we’re at before your job kicks off. And don’t worry—Willy’s never far from a wool shed. If he’s not shearing, he’s likely lending a hand in the yards, penning up, giving the team a breather—or just having a good yarn (and maybe getting in the wool handler’s way).
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We reckon the way to anyone’s heart is through their stomach—and we feed our crew accordingly. All meals are hearty, home-cooked, and packed with goodness, thanks to Tess. She also keeps the business humming behind the scenes, taking care of wages, invoicing, and wrangling the paperwork.
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After 15 years of working side by side in Taumarunui, we’re a well-oiled machine. Between the two of us, we keep the whole show running—from the board to the books.
