John Dawson has quite a niche career. He is a shearer, but not for an animal you would expect.
He exclusively shears alpacas. Including Hefner, the cheeky alpaca that sneezed on King Charles III.
Dawson exhibited shearing demonstrations throughout the duration of the 2025 Sydney Royal Easter Show in the alpaca pavilion.
He explained that sheering alpacas is particularly important as they are primarily used to create wool for clothing, whereas llamas are used for carrying items.
“[Alpaca wool] is definitely a valuable product and needs to be used more than it is,” said Dawson. “We are just trying to educate people on how good the alpaca fleece is, hopefully spread the word, and get more people wearing clothes made by alpacas.”
The value of the product was definitely not understated.
Now, clothes made from alpaca wool is being used by researches in Antarctica.
Alpaca wool is just as warm as merino wool, yet is more lightweight. This is because alpaca fleece lacks lanolin – a type of wax that is secreted by merino sheep, consequentially adding to its weight. A lack of lanolin also decreases skin irritation from the wool, meaning that comfort does not have to be sacrificed for warmth.
Additionally, alpaca wool is an eco-friendlier option. This is because of the low impact alpaca farms create, as well as a lack of chemicals needed in the wool making process, due to the lack of lanolin.
After these alpacas get their new do, Dawson said that the first thing they do is “find the closest dirty spot to roll in, and then just sunbake for the rest of the day.”
