The earliest version found in the Traditional Ballad Index was the one collected by Meredith in 1953. You beat that by a long shot, Mark.

Click Go the Shears

DESCRIPTION: A description of shearing life: The race to shear the most sheep, the boss complaining of the quality, the constant clicking of the shears. The rules for shearing are briefly mentioned. Chorus: "Click, click, click, that's how the shears go...."
AUTHOR: unknown (music by Henry Clay Work: "Ring the Bell, Watchman")
EARLIEST DATE: 1953 (collected by John Meredith)
KEYWORDS: sheep work contest
FOUND IN: Australia
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Meredith/Anderson, p. 24, "Click, Click, That's How the Shears Go"; pp. 193-194, "Click Go the Shears" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Fahey-Eureka, pp. 152-153, "Click Go the Shears" (1 text, 1 tune)
Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 180-183, "Click Go the Shears" (1 text)
DT, CLKSHEAR*
ADDITIONAL: A. K. MacDougall, _An Anthology of Classic Australian Lore_ (earlier published as _The Big Treasury of Australian Foiklore_), The Five Mile Press, 1990, 2002, p. 290, "Click Go the Shears" (1 text)
Bill Beatty, _A Treasury of Australian Folk Tales & Traditions_, 1960 (I use the 1969 Walkabout Paperbacks edition), pp. 291-292, "Click Go the Shears" (1 text)
Roud #8398
RECORDINGS:
John Greenway, "Click Go the Shears" (on JGreenway01)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Ring the Bell, Watchman" (tune)
File: MA024

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