Australia's Wool Industry

By Isabella Lennartson

With a sheep population verging on 110 million in 2008, approximately 5.5 sheep or 23 kg of greasy wool is produced annually per person in Australia (107 million sheep were shorn in 2005/2006, producing 461 million kg of greasy wool to be exact). This makes me wonder why all the sheep jokes revolve around our neighbours the New Zealanders, who only have a sheep population of approx 43 million; that said, if we are going per capita their sheep do greatly outnumber the population at 10:1...China - at the opposite end of the spectrum with a 1:9 sheep to people ratio- easily boasts the largest sheep population in the world (150 million). Despite this, they slide into second place next to Australia in the wool production stakes - I guess people need to eat...

Jokes aside, with these sorts of figures it is not surprising that Australia's wool exports were valued at $2.64 billion in 2005/2006. When you realise that Australia's flock of 107 million sheep are comprised of 88% Merino, 9% crossbred and 3% other breeds, Australia produces 70% of the world's finest wool. With its many uses, including exquisite Italian woven suiting fabrics and the finest knitwear around the globe; Australian wool in 2004 accounted for 51% of the total used in global wool apparel. 27% of our wool was used for knitwear and 60% of that for men and women's woven textiles.

Australian Merino wool is renowned the world over for its excellent natural handle and drape. However it is its finest natural attribute, memory, which makes merino a superior fibre, bouncing straight back into shape after it is worn. This elasticity is due to the high crimp in the fibre which acts like a coiled spring and its incredible durability - a merino fibre can be bent 20,000 times without breaking- which explains why merino garments have such a long wearable life span.

Australia exports its wool to 52 countries. China takes the lion's share, purchasing $1.3 billion worth of wool annually. Italy comes a not so close second, purchasing around $300 million annually, which mainly goes into producing fashion textiles. Going by the Australian Wool Innovation figures of the 461 million kg of greasy wool produced in 2005/2006, roughly 423million kg were exported to the top 10 export destinations, with only 38 million kg left for the remaining 42 countries Australia exports to plus Australia's own local consumption. Little wonder then, that of the original 60 Woollen Mills dotted around Australia, only a handful are still in production today. These include: the Bendigo Woollen Mills, Creswick Woollen Mill, Patons Mill in Wangarratta, and the Cleckheaton Mill in Shepparton, all in the state of Victoria; Nundle Woollen Mill in New South Wales and Waverley Woollen Mill in Launceston, Tasmania.

Waverleymill One of Australia's oldest woollen mills, Waverley Woollen Mill (so named after Scottish novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott's 'Waverley' novels), was established after the Government realised that Australia needed to advance from producing and selling purely primary products, and undertook to add value to their locally available resources. The Tasmanian Colonial Office in February 2, 1870 announced "We'll give a £1,000 bonus to the first person to sell the same amount in woollen goods from Tasmanian sheep." This incentive sparked Mr. Peter Bulman in 1871 to look into the possibility of such a business venture. In 1872 he set sail for England where he scoured the countryside of both England and Scotland for the procurement of the necessary equipment and recruitment of skilled men, essential to starting the business. On May 13 1874, the mill was started and on the 22nd August 1874 the first batch of Waverley Woollen Mills goods went to auction - where the sale realised £1,143-9s-3d. In February 1875, Waverley received from the Government its £1,000 bonus. Today Waverley Woollen Mills specialises in producing blankets, throws, travel rugs and quilts all in Australian pure new and merino wool.

Nundle Woollen Mill is a total newcomer on the Australian woollen mill scene. Established in 2001, Nundle Woollen Mill came about after Sydneysiders Peter and Judy Howarth decided to leave the city rat-race for the solitude of the countryside. Nundle, like many other Australian country towns, was facing the gloomy prospect of becoming just another dot on the map. This all soon changed with the Howarths' vision to create employment in the town, and give tourists a reason to detour there. After looking at several different enterprises including a soap factory and a candle making business, Peter and Judy discovered some wool processing equipment which had been transported from Geelong up to Tamworth for a boutique knitting business... the rest, as they say, is history. The equipment arrived from Geelong on 25 trailers, requiring a new purpose built factory in Nundle, primarily to produce wool for hand knitters. Currently they produce woollen knitting yarn in 8ply/ DK and 20 ply as well as experimenting with other blends such as hemp, linen and angora. Nundle Woollen Mill now employs 10 permanent and casual staff, and sells their products locally and globally via their factory boutique and online shop. Nundle (the town) now welcomes an average of 300 to 400 visitors a day, all thanks to one couple's vision and their belief in Australian Wool.

Australian Country Spinners are the proud owners of both Cleckheaton and Patons and their subsequent mills in Shepparton and Wangaratta. Cleckheaton came about when in 1948 Australian knitwear manufacturer Mr Fred James travelled to Yorkshire, England to buy fine pure new wool worsted yarn which had been in continual shortage in Australia since the beginning of WWII, when Australia agreed to sell all its wool to England at a fixed price for the duration of the war. Mr James wound up buying a lot more than just yarn on his trip, acquiring the entire worsted spinning mill, Cleckheaton (Yorkshire) Ltd. In 1949 Mr James relocated the entire mill- plant, mill hands and managers 20,000 km south to Shepparton, Victoria, Australia. A successful business move the company continued to expand through acquisitions and in 1980 merged with Wangaratta Woollen Mills. Patons established itself in Tasmania in 1923 and quickly became the premium hand knitting yarn spinner in Australia maintaining that position for decades until the early 1980's when due to the market contracting Paton's fell into decline and was forced to amalgamate with Alliance Textiles, New Zealand in 1996. In 2000 Patons Australia was acquired by Australian Country Spinners and returned home to a new mill in Wangaratta, Victoria.

Josephinenathan

Today both mills export yarn globally and are at the forefront of hand knit design with a recent and very successful collaboration with the young up and coming and hugely talented Australian knitwear designer Josephine Nathan. In 1995 Josephine graduated with honours from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology with a BA in Textile Design. In 1996 Australian Country Spinners snapped her up as an assistant knitwear designer, designing collections for the Cleckheaton and Panda labels In 1997 she spent a year lecturing in hand and machine knitting in the Fashion and Textile Dept of RMIT, before jetting of to Asia and Central America in 1998 where she spent two years travelling and observing the traditional textile and craft practices. By 2001 Josephine had returned to her rural roots, and basing herself on a farming property in Deniliquin in Southern NSW she set about establishing her own knitwear label woolliwoolli, producing machine knitted garments in 100% Australian Merino Wool. In 2008 Josephine returned to her first love, hand knitting, collaborating with Australian Country Spinners on two pattern books: She Knits #963 using Cleckheaton's superior yarns, Country Silk and Studio Mohair and Merino Deluxe DK using Patons 100% Australian Merino Deluxe DK yarn. Josephine has created a unique range of contemporary garments for the modern knitter, with particular emphasis on gorgeous 'to die for' dresses giving knitters with a passion for fashion the opportunity to create their own designer garment.

You can purchase Josephine's pattern books from www.woolbaa.com.au.
For stockist details visit www.patons.biz and www.cleckheaton.biz.

Some other key knitwear designers currently creating an international buzz around Australian Wool and Australian knitwear design are Biggan Ryd -Dups of Biggan Design, Jenny King of Jenny King Designs and Jane Slicer-Smith of Signatur Knits.

Niche luxury merino yarn label Biggan Design specialises in 100% Australian Merino grown and manufactured yarn. The company ethos is to maintain the integrity and quality of their product by ensuring it is 100% Australian from sheep through to production and preserve the art and heritage of wool and yarn production within Australia. Biggan Design yarn was created by Scandinavian hand knitwear designer Biggan Ryd-Dups, who, upon migrating to Australia discovered that despite the abundance of sheep it was near to impossible to find quality yarn in an artist's palette of colours needed for her textile designs. Biggan Design yarns and patterns have quickly gained exposure in both national and international Knitting magazines including Yarn, Simply Knitting, Knit'n Style, Knitting and e-zine knitonthenet.com and are fast being cast onto needles across the country and in the UK and USA. The rapidly growing popularity of Biggan Design's superior quality DK merino yarn is the combination of a durable, super soft, non- pilling, machine washable, elastic yarn that comes in an incredible 64 colours to inspire every knitter, whether novice or fully fledged designer. Then there is the bold colour work of Biggan Ryd - Dups stylish yet easy to knit designer collection of patterns which are fun to knit and chic to wear. This year, Biggan's Fiorella Poncho, Saya Wrap, Sarah Jumper and Eleanor Mini skirts have caused a real stir amongst the fashion savvy knitters around the world. Biggan Design will have a stand at both the Alexandra Palace and Harrogate Knitting & Stitching Shows in the UK later this year or you can visit her online boutique www.biggandesign.com.

Jenny King, is the Queen of Crochet in Australia, a title duly deserved as, in 2000 Jenny won first place at the International Crochet Awards held in the UK. With a Diploma in Textiles and a professional member of the Crochet Guild of America, Jenny's 30 years of Crocheting have seen her widely published including USA titles: Today's Crochet, Crochet!, Hooked on Crochet; as well as Australian titles; Creative Knitting, Handmade, and Australian Crochet. Her latest work has landed on the cover of Australian Yarn magazine featuring a wrap using Biggan Design's 100% Australian Merino DK yarn. Jenny also has a whole slew of self published Crochet titles too, including patterns for Tartans (if your clan is not in there she will happily design it for you), Football Rugs, Beading (her true passion), Garments and Accessories. A real favourite are her crocheted, native Australian wildflowers which she will be teaching later this month (July 24) at the CGOA & TKGA - Crochet & Knit Summer Show in New Hampshire, USA. www.knitandcrochetshow.com

When Jenny is not travelling she can be found at her Crochet & Yarn boutique, Jenny King Designs situated on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, or you can visit her online boutique www.jennykingdesigns.com.

Jane Slicer - Smith believes luck is the coming together of opportunity and ability, and it was this luck that saw her study knitwear design at Trent University in England where she grew up, and then led her to win the British Knitting Export Council's award for colour whilst still studying at Trent. In 1983, the British Wool Marketing Board introduced Jane to a design job with Japan's largest inporter of British wool, which saw Jane commuting for the next three years between Sydney and Tokyo, designing handknits for both publication and promotion. It was during this time that Jane started Signatur handknits with a stall at Sydney's Paddington Bazaar and Australian Craft Show, selling her now famous cardigans and swing coats, as both ready to wear pieces, or as knitting kits for hand knitters. From these humble beginnings Jane's clientele grew to become Australia wide and in 2000 she launched her label into the USA market with the help of Vogue Knitting and Knitters magazine. Jane now has retail stores across the USA and UK stocking her stylish knitting kits and continues to do the Australian Craft show circuit every year where she has a very large and loyal customer base.

Jane says she loves working in Australian pure new wool for lots of reasons. The combination of great colours, drape and great stitch definition create the canvas for her Signatur range of cardigans and swing coats. Jane will be also be showing at the Harrogate Knitting and Stitching Show in the UK later this year or you can visit her website www.sigknit.com.

Whether homegrown talent or import, all four designers, along with the handful of Woollen mills still in production today, share a passion for promoting and sharing Australian Wool, Knitwear and Crochet design with fellow Australians and with the world at large. It is apparent, that despite the current economic climate and tough competition with the comparatively cheap manufacturing costs in China, there are still some companies and people willing to keep the Australian Wool Industry alive and well and moving forward. In effect they are all continuing the vision and work started by the colonial Australian government and its early settlers over 150 years ago, who strove so diligently to make Australia more than just a primary industry producing nation.