Merino Wool

THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN WOOL

THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN WOOL
Where did it come from – The History:
It all started in a town called Sydney; the First Fleet sailed in with the very first flock of sheep to hit Australian shores in 1788. The first Merino sheep, which were Spanish, came from South Africa. Two men by the names John Macarthur and Samuel Marsden acquired the sheep in 1797. A few years after that Australia’s potential to produce wool became evident, so Governor, Captain P G King began shipping fleeces from Macarthur’s flocks and others to England for appraisal.
It wasn’t until November in the year 1807 that the first import of wool was made to England by Samuel Marsden. He had the third biggest flock of sheep in Australia at that time. John Macarthur sent his wool later in the year which sold for $45 lb.
In the years that followed the shipments of wool to England became bigger and bigger. The three main families were the Macarthur, Riley and Marsden. The increase of demand had a lot to do with the Napoleonic wars which disrupted the export of Spanish wool because of the battle front being in Spain. German exports were almost halted with the English naval blockade of continental Europe. What this did was give Australia a foothold in the English wool market.
The demand was so great that by 1830 Australia had a sheep population of upwards of 2 million and climbing. The vast grasslands that were becoming available through road construction were feeding the sheep which made such numbers sustainable. By 1835 wool had become Australia’s main export industry.
1838 saw Australia challenging Spain and Germany as the main suppliers of wool to England. Japan also became the second biggest buyer of Australian wool.
Wool began to be auctioned in Australia for the first in 1843, up until this wool had been shipped to England and Auctioned or sold by private deals. By 1850 the value of wool exports was 41 Million.
During the industrial revolution the wool industries products came under threat from the increased use of cotton and new spinning and weaving machines. To improve quality the Australian sheep breeders had to re-create the short stapled Spanish Merino so that their wool was suitable for the new machines. They then combined cotton and wool to produce a cheaper lighter and higher quality fabric. This turned out to be the greatest revolution in, animal linked, industrial engineering in history. This grew the sheep numbers even further, in 1879 there were 40 million sheep, and by 1892 it was at 106 million. Numbers fell by almost half in 1902 due to the driest year ever recorded.
The First World War saw the British Government purchase the entire Australian wool clip for a fixed price for the whole duration of the war. This gave them an enormous advantage as Germany’s wool supplies were scarce.
Jaque Rodier, a textile manufacturer, developed machine made knitted wool, which he called Jersey, and showed it to an upcoming French designer Gabrielle Chanel, who created women’s apparel that was comfortable and free moving which changed woman’s fashion for ever.
Wool was the dominant force in Australia’s exports, in the 1930’s it had become 62% of Australia’s total export value of primary products. The United Kingdom’s textile industry was buying almost 50% of Australia’s total wool exports, with Japan and The United States also among the best customers of its wool.
In 1934 the population of sheep topped the previous record set in 1892 of 106 Million. Japan’s increasing demand for wool saw it purchasing two thirds of Australia’s exports.
The advantage that wool gave in war times once again saw Britain purchase all of Australia’s wool for the duration of the Second World War. They even stopped shearers from war service to keep up with demand.
In 1947 scientists in Europe and the United States developed instruments for measuring the mean fiber diameter. These tools, used to measure wool fiber diameter, became common place in the industry.
1959 saw Japan end Britain’s dominance over purchasing Australian wool, by 1962 it had bought twice as much as Britain did in that year.
Standard sampling and testing systems were developed in 1960, procedure measures included:
* Wool base – the dry weight of wool free from impurities e.g. vegetable matter, dust, moisture, grease
* Vegetable matter base – established when a sample of wool is placed in a boiling solution of 10% caustic soda, the wool is dissolved and the remaining vegetable matter is dried and weighed
* Fiber diameter – average diameter expressed in microns, developed and approved by IWTO
A Record 180 million sheep came about in 1970. 1980 saw the demand for fine Australian wool increase even more from the production of Cashwool, a very fine classic yarn that still today shows its unique characteristics.
The Sydney Opera House held the Australian Bicentennial Wool Collection in 1988 which invited an array of the world’s best fashion designers to create outfits made from Australian Merino wool. The likes of Gianni Versace, Donna Karan, Kenzo Takada, Bruce Oldfield and Adele Palmer to name a few.
Australia became the world’s biggest producer, and main source of woolen apparel, entering international trade channels in 1991 and it stayed that way for the next 5 years.
2003 saw China’s emerging manufacturing prowess challenge all western countries wool processing industries, which it took over and became the largest processer of Australian Wool in the world.
2007 – 200 years of wool exported from Australia.

http://www.boot-boot.com has more information on the history of the Great Australian Ugg Boots

About the Author

Merino Wool Clothing at Sundog Trading Company

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