TOP SIRE 2025–2026 INDUSTRY NEWS FIGHTING MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLES IN SHEARING SHEDS WITH SHEDWAY What began as a Facebook page less than two years ago has transformed into a powerful movement ready to revolutionise the shearing industry, earning founder Carol Mudford the 2025 NSW/ACT Agrifutures Rural Women’s Award. Carol is the founder of sHedway – a not-for-profit organisation which aims to educate members of the shearing industry about suicide prevention and mental health support. A registered nurse and novice champion shearer, Carol has managed to turn two very different career paths into one major passion project, which aims to break the stigma around mental health. Carol developed a love of shearing and sheep while growing up on her family’s sheep and cropping property at Curban, near Gilgandra in the state’s Central West region. It wasn’t until later in life, after pursuing a career in nursing and travelling around Australia and overseas, that she returned to her roots and developed a deeper love of shearing and shed work. “My dad was sick with cancer in 2020, around the time Covid lockdowns were starting, so I came back to the farm to be with him and I’m grateful for that because it forced my hand to go home.” Sadly, her Dad passed away in August of that year and Carol sought a break from nursing. “I started going rouseabouting with my cousin and a few weeks turned into a few months, which turned into me having a go at shearing.” Carol picked up her first hand piece at 35 and once she started, she was hooked. On the back of grieving the loss of her dad and other losses in the family due to farming accidents, Carol said shearing became a positive thing for her during that time. She continued shearing until October 2023 with the goal to make the national competition as a Novice Champion. A week after achieving her goal, Carol returned to her nursing career in the mental health sector. “My nursing registration would have run out if I didn’t go back, so I found this wonderful job in suicide prevention,” she said. “In my first two weeks at that job, three shearers died by suicide. One I knew personally and had worked with.” Having struggled with her own mental health battles, Carol knows only too well the difficulties people face in accessing resources in regional areas. After years spent in shearing sheds across the country, Carol witnessed first-hand the toll the job had on the mental health of people in the industry. – 16 –
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