It was all hands on deck for the staff at Leenavale sheep farm in Tasmania on Thursday and Prince Charles was no exception. The heir to the throne joined fourth-generation sheep farmer Brent Thornbury in the shearing shed as he turned his royal hand to 'fleece-throwing'.
Wool handler Lucy Byers, who throws up to 60 fleeces a day, commented that Charles was "quite good for a beginner", although the Prince of Wales himself sheepishly admitted, "I didn't do it too well." Despite the rain, the Queen's son took the time to greet the hundreds of well-wishers who turned out to see him, telling one about his experience with the sheep that had been "leaping and jumping everywhere."
While at first glance the smart royal may have looked overdressed for the occasion, his grey pin-stripe suit by Anderson and Sheppard was, in fact, made from a similar merino wool to that produced by the farm. Charles' sartorial tribute and efforts to get involed went down well with his hosts, who remarked that he showed a "genuine interest" in their work by inquiring about sheep handling and other aspects of wool production.
Whilst Charles had a hands-on experience, spending around half an hour in the sheep pen, Camilla was enjoying a high tea with a group of local women.
Charles' visit to the farm fell on the fourth day of the couple's visit to Australia, which is the second leg of their two week tour to Australasia in honour of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. After a short stay in Papua New Guinea, they arrived in the remote outback town of Longreach on Monday and are now due in Sydney and Canberra before leaving for New Zealand on Sunday.
Earlier in the day, the royal couple had spent time together including stopping for a local beer at a pub in Richmond, near the state capital of Hobart. Clay Ackroyd, who runs the Richmond Arms Hotel, described how thilled he was that the duo stopped by: "We're actually going to get their glass engraved," he said, "it's one of those things that's probably not going to happen again, so we're absolutely stoked."
Charles and Camilla seem keen to sample local beverages from the places they visit. During their trip to Adelaide the couple toured a vineyard where they enjoyed a glass of wine from a £2,500 bottle of 1962 Coonawarra Cabernet Kalimna Shiraz.