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 sample came from a sheep bred at Scone station in Tasmania. The station was established by William Gibson in 1854 and became one of Australia's most influential studs. Gibson started his flock with a quality German, English and Silesian genetic base and later imported a Negretti ram from Europe. He also used the famous sire Sir Thomas, from Bellevue station, for breeding. In the 1870s Gibson 'closed' the stud, breeding only from within the flock, and Scone emerged as one of the greatest studs in Tasmania. Its stock dominated Australia wide wool and sheep competitions throughout the late 1800s. Many major studs all over Australia were purchasing Scone sheep to use as breeding stock. Scone's most famous ram, Royal Hero, was used for breeding at Wanganella station and imparted softer-wool qualities to the famous stud. Wanganella was one of the most prolific merino breeding properties in the 1800s and today over 70% of merinos in Australia are descended from their breeding stock.

Erika Dicker
Assistant Curator
September 2007

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

The wool specimen was produced in 1898 by William Gibson and Son in Scone, Tasmania, Australia.

Sire, 'Royal Hero' by 'Hero II' by 'Hero' by 'Prince of Wales' by 'Prince II'. Dam, No 8 Scone ewe, by 'Hero Prince' by 'Hero II' by 'No 2 Prince' . Bought for 110gs at Sydney Sheep Sales 1897 by Mr A. H. Wright. Winner of Champion and 1st prizes in clothing class. NSW S. B Assoc 1897.

Originally donated by Arthur H Wright, Tombong, Delegate, 1897.

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 specimen, special stud ram 'Wool Prince', bred by William Gibson and Son, Scone, Tasmania, Australia, 1897

Wool specimen from four year old special stud ram 'Wool Prince'. There is a black ribbon tied around the middle of the specimen and a small green tag attached to the ribbon.

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: 24.7 microns (4.4 Standard Deviation)
(average fibre diameter)

Staple length: 55 mm

Mean fibre curvature: 107.3 Dg/mm
(A measurement in degrees
per mm related to
crimp frequency)

Comfort Factor: 89.7 %
(The % of fibres equal
to or less than 30 microns)

Made: William Gibson & Sons; Scone, Tasmania; 1898

Green tag reads 'F5603 / Wool Prince / 4 yrs old' and on reverse 'No 1 / A H Wright / Tombong / NSW'.

F5603

1898

125 mm

115 mm