1890s
Still common
Definition
The sleeveless blue singlet worn by shearers and rural workers all over Australia.
🎥 Watch
Where the "Jacky Howe" Comes From
The Jacky Howe is the sleeveless blue singlet worn by shearers and rural workers all over Australia, named after champion shearer Jack “Jackie” Howe.
On 10 October 1892, Howe hand-sheared 321 sheep in just seven hours and forty minutes — a record that stood for over a century. Whether the singlet itself was what he wore that day is part legend, but the name stuck as a badge of hard yakka.
Example Sentence
He turned up to the shed in his Jacky Howe, ready for a day's shearing.
How Aussies Actually Use It
Still worn by shearers, farmhands, and tradies today, and recognised well beyond rural Australia as a piece of workwear iconography.
“Get your Jacky Howe on, we're starting at first light” is standard shearing-shed talk.
🎓 Want to sound like a true Aussie?
Watch Down Under English on YouTube for real Australian pronunciation, slang lessons, and culture — taught by an Australian educator.
Watch on YouTube →