The wool collection held by the Powerhouse Museum contains thousands of wool samples collected between 1804 and 2003. These samples provide a record of wool growing in Australia. The different fleeces reflect the breeding programs and environmental conditions under which the fleeces were grown and, as such, they provide a valuable history of the areas of Australia in which sheep were grazed.

Sheep were introduced into Australia in 1788 from Cape Town in South Africa. Since then sheep from other countries, including the Spanish Merino were imported into Australia and selectively crossbred. Careful crossbreeding, paying particular attention to the impact of the environment on both animal and fleece, led to the evolution of the Australian Merino. It is an excellent example of the engineering, through selective breeding, of a domestic animal. Wool went on to become the mainstay of the Australian Economy from 1807 to 1960.

This particular wool specimen came from a sheep bred at Collaroy station near Merriwa in New South Wales. The flock was established in 1829 with a base of Saxon rams, and improved later with a Spanish-type ram imported from England. In 1866 they imported two Rambouillet rams into the stud which, subsequently, had a positive impact on the quality of sheep and wool. Collaroy sent large numbers of these new Rambouillet-crossed rams to the pastoral areas of New South Wales. Their stock not only had quality wool but opened farmer's eyes to a new type of sheep that was better suited to the environment. During this period sheepmen rated Collaroy in the same class as the famous Wanganella station. Collaroy rose to be one of the major studs in New South Wales and many other stations were founded using their bloodlines.

Erika Dicker
Assistant Curator
September 2007

Reference:
Charles Massy. 'The Australian Merino', Penguin Books Australia Ltd, Victoria, 1990.

The wool was produced in 1898 by Collaroy Company Limited in Collaroy, Merriwa, New South Wales, Australia.

Originally donated by E W [Severne], Carwell, Gulargambone, 1898.

This wool specimen is part of the Bill Montgomery Wool Collection which consists of approximately 7000 samples. In the older part of the collection there are 5000 samples from Australian sheep fleeces grown between 1856 and 1906. The samples were collected by the Museum at a time when scientific research was prominent in the Museum's activities. In 1979, when the Museum's focus changed, most of its wool collection was transferred to the teaching collection of Mr Bill Montgomery, a wool classing teacher at Newcastle Technical College. When Bill retired from the College, the collection was again in danger of being thrown away. He took the entire collection home and stored it in his garage for 15 years. His Collection also contains approximately 1500 wool samples grown between 1950 and 2000 and collected by Bill himself. It includes 147 examples of faults and stains occurring in Australian flocks, 20 pigmented wools and 33 rare and extinct breeds from around the world. The Museum purchased the entire collection in 2003. Bill Montgomery died on 7th July, 2007.

Wool specimens (2), stud ram 'C84', bred by Collaroy Company Limited, Merriwa, New South Wales, Australia, 1898

Two wool specimens from two year old, grass fed, stud ram 'C84'.

This sample of wool was tested in June 2007 by the Interactive Wool Group. They used the OFDA2000 instrument for fleece testing. The following are the results for this specimen:

Microns: 25.7 microns (5.1 Standard Deviation)
(average fibre diameter)

Staple length: 55mm

Mean fibre curvature: 109 Dg/mm
(A measurement in degrees
per mm related to
crimp frequency)

Comfort Factor: 84.6 %
(The % of fibres equal
to or less than 30 microns)

Made: Collaroy Company Limited; Merriwa, New South Wales; 1898

F5625

1898