A vibrant flock of sheep at the north entrance to Masterton was unveiled on the eve of the 2026 Golden Shears competitions. ‘Flock of Champions’ celebrates the international shearing community – reflecting the town’s proud rural heritage and home of the Golden Shears.
Featuring a flock of brightly painted life-sized sheep sculptures, the artwork was commissioned by Masterton Trust Lands Trust (MTLT), with support from Masterton District Council, Trust House, and Resene.
The new artwork was a year in the making – created especially to welcome the international shearing community for this week’s Golden Shears World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships.
“We saw this year’s double billing of the Golden Shears and hosting of the World Championships as a unique chance to create something big, bold, and beautiful for Masterton. ‘Flock of Champions’ was a true community effort. It honours the global reach of the shearing community,” said Trust chair Christine Brewster at the unveiling ceremony.
Each member of the flock sports a unique hand painted fleece – inspired by 12 nations that share a long history of competing at the Golden Shears. The Trust engaged local artists to bring each great shearing nation to life using fibreglass sheep sculptures as the canvas.
At the event, the Trust paid tribute to the talent and creativity of the artists behind the flock – Natasha Priddle for Australia, Katie Gracie for Aotearoa NZ, Barbara Caffell for England, Jane Sinclair for France, Paul Gadsby for Germany, Bernie Nannestad for Norway, Sandra McNab for Republic of Ireland, Alexandra Gordon for Scotland, Lotte Hawley for South Africa, Ian Chapman and Linda Tilyard for Spain, Adrian Jackman for USA, and Janey Halliday for Wales.
‘Flock of Champions’ can be found on the grass at the north end of Dixon Street, between the swimming pool and roundabout.