Australian Wool Industry

INTRODUCTION

Australia is the world's largest wool producing country, and has been for decades. The fine quality of wool from the result of fine breeding has definitely help contribute to the high demand of the wool industry. Much of Australia's wool has been exported to other countries such as China, Italy, Taiwan, Republic of Korea and France. However, Australia's wool production has been decreasing for the last 10 years and the demand has been declining because of the other, easier to manage, synthetic fibers and materials that have been introduced to the market. This following report is regarding the changes and effects the wool industry had on Australia in the 19th century, the reasons for the successful development of the wool industry, and also Australia's current position in wool production.

HISTORY Ð'- JOHN MACARTHUR

The first sheep to arrive in Australia, Botany Bay was in 1788 on the First Fleet, brought by Governor Phillip. The sheep that were brought over were only to be used for food and not for wool production for the new settlement in the newly found country. They had thick, hairy fleeces and small groups of them were brought frequently, however only a few survived the journey and the few that survived were not use to the climatic changes and died soon after.

Governor Philip later realised Australia's soil and climate were better suited for livestock grazing than any farming. So after setting up many farms in 1792 Governor Philip headed back to England and left a temporary governor, Major Francis Grose to replace him until 1794. This was when the significant changes occurred, free settlers were allowed in Australia and officers and officials were given grants of land.

John Macarthur, an officer in the New South Wales Corps took advantage of the grants of land, he was the most productive of the officers. He and two of his friends brought several pure blood Spanish Merino sheep to Australia, he then started breeding them some of his mixed breeds. He continued with this practice until he was certain that the result was that the quality of the wool was alike to the wools from Spain and Germany. John Macarthur's success in fine-wool production gave Australia great wealth.

AUSTRALIAN MERINO WOOL

Australia produces the world's best woollen fibre, Australian Merino wool, which is also the main sheep breed in this country (75% are Merino's in Australia). This has been a result from the climate in Australia and also selected breeding. The Australian Merino produces pure, white wool, which is fine and soft but strong. There are six main categories of merino in Australia. Ultrafine wool (17.5 micron fibre diameter or finer) Superfine wool (17.6-18.5 micron fibre diameter), Fine-Medium wool (19.6-20.5 micron fibre diameter), Medium wool (20.6-22.5 micron fibre diameter) and Strong wool (22.6 micron fibre diameter and more.)

Ultrafine wool is the finest wool fibre in the world. Merinos in the range of 12.5 to 16.9 are suitable for blending with other fibres such as silk and cashmere, an elite fashion area of the market. Fine-Medium wool is becoming the largest section of the Australian Merino breeding industry. Breeders want to produce finer micron wool whilst maintaining their fleece weights similar to the medium Merino. Medium wool types are found in extremely large numbers throughout New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. The sheep are large and produce a heavy fleece which is soft and of good colour. Strong wool types are well known in the western part of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. The strong wool Merino can survive in hot, dry and semi-arid areas of Australia and can easily be cared for.

ECONOMIC CHANGES DUE TO WOOL INDUSTRY

As the wool industry was profitable because of the Industrial Revolution and the links with the British Economy. There was a great demand of raw material such, cotton and wool and Australia, with it's vast areas of land was one of the ideally the place to produce huge quantities of wool, exceedingly cheap. As the cost of production was very cheap, falling wool prices had little impact. The Australian wool industry played a great role in heightening the British economy.

The Gold Rushes occurred around in the 1850's to 1880's and influenced the wool industry dramatically. There was a lack of labourers, as working in the wool industry needed more effort. The wool industry didn't improve in the 1890's, economic problems occurred when drought seriously affected wool production. Sheep numbers fell from 106 million to 54 million, around a 49% decrease.

AUSTRALIAN WOOL INDUSTRY TODAY

Australia currently is the major world producer and exporter of wool, particularly fine merino, although income from wool exports is now less than one-tenth of the total export income of the country. In the early 1990s the annual production of wool was 731,300 metric tons; representing about 15 percent of the value of farm output, down from 28 percent in the late 1980s. About half the country's wool is produced in New South Wales and Western Australia. The reason for the fall of the wool