More than $8.2 million worth of wool was sold at a rapid clip in the first-ever auction to occur at the Royal Sydney Easter Show.
Farmers and the public watched as the wool, which went for an average of $1300 a bale, sold at a frenetic pace.
Before the mining boom, it was said Australia rode on the sheep's back. These days, though, many Australians don't understand what happens to wool after that, said the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW's agricultural manager, Murray Wilton.
"They see it on the sheep's back, and then the next time they see it is as a jumper," he said.
A purpose-built sale room was constructed inside the Sheep & Wool Pavilion to house the two-day event where more than 12,000 bales worth $15 million will be sold by the end of Wednesday.
The auction was brought to the show by Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX), which holds weekly auctions.
Over in another part of a show, a rare African four-horned sheep was also doing a brisk trade in people saying OMG ("Oh My God!').
It is the first time these four-horned sheep have been seen at a public event in Australia.
The sheep are endangered because unlike merinos, they are shunned by farmers. Bizarrely, they've only survived in small numbers because game parks have bred them for hunters to shoot as unusual trophies for their walls.
They were brought to Australia by conservationist, Will Marshall, who owns a rare breed farm on Kangaroo Island.
The horns are not caused by a genetic abnormality.
Mr Marshall said the four-horned sheep was quite resourceful, and smarter than many breeds.
"These are a bit more switched on than most sheep because they have had to deal with human predation."
