In 2004, a renegade sheep that had avoided muster for five years was found in Central Otago, on Bendigo Station near Tarras. He was, as his owner John Perriam remembers, completely wool blind and “the most useless worthless creature.”
But he would go on to be worth an estimated $100 million to the New Zealand economy and raise thousands of dollars for the Cure Kids Charity.
Stephen Jacquiery, long-time photographer for the ODT, set the ball rolling with his photograph of Shrek.
“He pushed a button and that photo went to all corners of the world within 24 hours, so it was an incredible start to the journey. It seemed to capture people’s imaginations and you can see why because I didn’t quite believe it myself,” John Perriam explained. […]
Thanks to Stephen Jacquiery’s photo, Shrek was already famous, but he was about to become a New Zealand icon. Paul Holmes was coming to Bendigo.
Holmes was the biggest name in broadcasting at the time and his eponymous show Holmes secured the deal to shear Shrek live on TV. […]
Twenty minutes later, Shrek was relieved of 27 kilograms of wool. A red coat with the name Icebreaker was thrown on him to keep him warm. […]
Shrek was a big deal.
He went on to travel in planes and helicopters, commanding thousands for corporate events but visiting schools, hospitals and rest homes for free, even meeting then Prime Minister Helen Clark. […]
Perriam got the Shrek team back together to plan another fundraising opportunity, but then something caught his eye.
“I heard about these ice bergs floating up from Antarctica going past New Zealand.”
And so it was that Shrek was flown in a helicopter for, in hindsight, a hair raising adventure.
INews
Read more here. Discuss it on The BFD.
