Obituary Koro Mullins

Obituary

Koro Mullins By Doug Laing Across the shearing fraternity something has been missing since the sudden September 16 death of ‘the voice’ of the Golden Shears Koro Mullins. It was just a fortnight before the start of the new season at which he would have again been the voice of shearing at six competitions up and down the east coast – ringmaster and arena commentator at Poverty Bay, Hawke’s Bay, Central Hawke’s Bay, Wairoa and Dannevirke A and P Show, and taking our sport to the World via the livestreaming at Golden Shears. Over the years he had also takenup the microphone at other shows, including the New Zealand Shears in Te Kuiti. His passing was unexpected, while in Wellington for a relatively minor surgical procedure. “It leaves a big gap, it’ll take a lot to ll it,” said former fellow-competitor and eventual Golden Shears president now justretired Golden Shears World Council chairman Greg Herrick. “Perhaps it will never be lled.” As it happens, the family will do its best to ll the gap, with son Tuma continuing the commentating and announcing role he’s performed for some years, and the face of

the TV role being lled by widow Mavis Mullins.

It’s not particularly surprising that while acutely missing the man they will barely miss a beat, parts of a Dannevirke family with multigenerational shearing history, and their own individual parts spanning as more than half the 60 years of the Golden Shears.

It was in 1987 that Mavis Mullins (nee Paewai) won her rst Golden Shears Open woolhandling titles, and 1993 when she won her second, the same Shears at which Koro Tumatahi Mullins, of Te Arawa stock and born in Rotorua on August 13, 1954, shore in his one and only Golden Shears Open shearing nal. Both Koro and Mavis, by that time also established as shearing contractors in Dannevirke after taking over the Paewai family run of the past, recalled the moment Koro heard he’d made it, in their van parked by the Waipoua River as the list of nalists crackled over the radio. The ultimate signi cance of that announcement would have been lost in the euphoria of having reached shearings’ equivalent of centre court nals day at Wimbledon. Of the six for shearings’ greatest 20 minutes later in the evening, Koro

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Mullins would be the only one never to win the title. David Fagan had already won three of his eventual 16, Colin King had won 3, Paul Grainger and Edsel Forde had won 1 each, and Paul Avery would eventual win his 2, in 2005 and 2007. About that time, Koro was already starting to ex the vocal cords in the changing of the times in the repackaging of Golden Shears, where trailblazing Phil O’Shaughnessy, from Northland, would be joined by Koro Mullins, each in formal dress, with red-to-crimson waist-coast, in the presentation of the most important moments on the nights, with corporate tables, nibbles and wine. His trademark became his explanations of how the shearing industry works, why the shearers and woolhandlers are so important in the production of the nation’s eece, and who those shearers and woolhandlers actually were, who their families were, and with a proud and respectful attention to detail. It was done with a trademark cheek, and while he was fastidious in the correct pronunciation of people’s names, some would nd themselves rebranded such as Golden Shears and World champions Paul Avery (“the smiling assassin”) and John Kirkpatrick (“Captain Kirk, captain of the Enterprise”). Both Koro and Mavis were followed across the Golden Shears stage over the years by Tuma, brother Punga and sister Aria, all taking places in competition nals. The couple’s second daughter, Korina, went into a professional career outside shearing. The family has been best known for the shearing operation which at peak employs over 100 sta , with quarters just east of Dannevirke. The operation was noted for its promotion and tuition of youngsters entering the industry and assuring the well-being of hundreds from the UK and other European countries while working in New Zealand. The Chairman of Shearing Sports New Zealand, Sir David Fagan, said the global world of shearing was “rocked” by the news of his death. He said Koro’s involvement and commitment was the fullest in every way and all within the industry and sport were united in sharing their condolences with the whanau. “It’s a big loss,” he said. Ultimately, Koro would have a town hall send-o , Dannevirke’s town hall being absolutely packed with dozens outside unable to get in, before he arrived from Makirikiri Marae.

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