1890. `The Argus,' Sept. 20, p. 13, col. 6:
"A `ringer' being the man who by his superior skill and expertness `tops the score'—that is, shears the highest number of sheep per day."
1893. `The Herald' (Melbourne), Dec. 23, p. 6, col. 1:
"Whence came the term `ringer,' as applied to the quickest shearer, I don't know. It might possibly have some association with a man who can get quoits on to the peg, and again, it might not, as was remarked just now by my mate, who is camped with me."
1894. E. W. Hornung, `Boss of Taroomba,' p. 101:
"They call him the ringer of the shed. That means the fastest shearer—the man who runs rings round the rest, eh?"
1894. `Geelong Grammar School Quarterly,' April, p. 26:
"Another favourite [school] phrase is a `regular ringer.'
Great excellence is implied by this expression."
1896. A. B. Paterson, `Man from Snowy River,' p. 162:
"The Shearers sat in the firelight, hearty and hale and strong,
After the hard day's shearing, passing the joke along
The `ringer' that shore a hundred, as they never were shorn
before,
And the novice who toiling bravely had tommyhawked half a
score."