It is critical that fibre to be processed on textile machinery is scoured properly prior to being processed. If not, it will give problems at all stages of processing, causing much wasted time and frustration to textile machinery operators. Machines and or machine parts may be damaged due to the abrasive nature of the dirt build up. No matter the skill of the  machinery operators, processing problems will create greater losses of fibre during processing and the end product will be of an inferior quality. All in all, much time and money are lost by all.

Textile processors will therefore insist that fibre is commercially scoured prior to processing.

Source: Fibre Naturally & Cashmere Connections.

Although the other steps are also important, if the fibre is not clean (free of dirt, suint and grease) it will not process well, even for skilled and experienced operators.

Sources: Fibre Naturally Woollen Mill & Cashmere Connections

The speed of spinning had been limited by the strength of the wool, which would break when unspun lengths were twisted around each other faster than 10,000 revolutions per minute. CSIRO researcher, David Henshaw, developed a process where lengths of unspun wool would be twisted on themselves, not each other, then paired them up and released, with the energy in their twists triggering them to wrap around each other without breaking. The yarn they eventually created was just as strong as conventional yarn, but because only a small section of the wool needed to be rotated to create the twist, they could be spun at virtually limitless speeds.

The first generation of new spinning machines, created with manufacturer Repco Ltd, increased the output of yarn from 20 metres a minute to 220 metres and decreased the size of the machine by 80 per cent. In 1970 the Repco Spinner won the Prince Philip Prize for industrial design.

Source: https://www.csiro.au/en/about/achievements/top-10

During the period 1938 to 1961Doug Waterhouse carried out pioneering studies on the sheep blowfly, a major pest. This work was interrupted by the Second World War where his attention turned to ways of protecting allied troops from the mosquitoes responsible for malarial transmission. By 1943 the repellent was widely used by troops in the Pacific.

It took the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Australia in 1963 for the repellent to become a household name. The Queen was liberally sprayed with the repellent before heading off for a game of golf. Journalists following the Queen noted the absence of flies around the official party, and word about CSIRO’s new fly-repellent spread. A few days later the good people at Mortein called Doug Waterhouse for his formula, which he passed on freely, as was CSIRO’s policy at the time.

Source: https://csiropedia.csiro.au/aerogard/

Softly was developed by CSIRO’s Tom Pressley in the 1960s. He did so  in response to the claim by a British microbiologist ( which Tom later found to be unfounded), that woollen blankets were a major source of infective, airborne particles because they couldn’t be laundered at high temperatures.

The detergent was so successful, that it was produced and marketed by the Unilever Corporation under the trade name Softly®. It has been on the worldwide market since the 1960s and is now manufactured by Pental, a subsidiary of Symex Holdings Limited.

For more information about this interesting story, you can visit the source document online.

Source: https://csiropedia.csiro.au/softly-detergent/

Sirospun is the combination of spinning and doubling (plying) in the one process and is therefore a very productive yarn production process. It was developed by Dieter Plate and colleagues from the Division of Textile Industry in the 1970s.

Source: https://csiropedia.csiro.au/sirospun/

To compete with the permanent-press ability of synthetic materials, CSIRO developed a process to set permanent creases in wool fabric.  The process was first developed by Arthur Farnworth using a chemical process, named Siroset, that changed the structure of the wool fibres so they could be set with heat. Si-Ro-Set was released in 1957 and the Fletcher Jones company pioneered the use of this permanent pressing process in its manufacturing of skirts and trousers.  

Source: https://www.fjstories.org.au/another-quality-improvement-during-christmas-break%C2%A0

Chlorine Hercosett shinkproofing process is a procedure, developed in the 1960s, to prevent wool from felting and shrinking during machine washing. It provided a simple method of treating wool for the manufacture of fully machine washable garments.

Source:https://csiropedia.csiro.au/processes-developed/#Processesdeveloped-C

The CSIRO Wool Textile Research Laboratories were formed in 1949. There were three separate Laboratories, located in Melbourne, Geelong and Sydney. In 1958 the three Laboratories became separate Divisions, known as the Divisions of Textile Physics, Textile Industry and Protein Chemistry.

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In 1916, the Australian Government established the Advisory Council of Science and Industry as the first step towards a 'national laboratory'. By 1920, this had evolved into the Institute for Science and Industry under an Act of the Federal Parliament. In 1926, this Act was revised to form the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

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The primary purpose of the Advisory Council of Science and Industry, the Institute of Science and Industry and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) remained consistent and this purpose continues largely unchanged in the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) to this day. That is, to initiate and conduct scientific research to assist in the development of the primary and secondary industries of Australia: farming, mining and manufacturing being the focus in the early years.

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The onset of World War II (1939-45), saw the Council conducting research to assist the Australian Defence Forces, in areas such as radar.

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In 1949, CSIR ceased all defence work for the military and was renamed CSIRO, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation.

At this time, it also expanded its fields of research. One of these new fields of research was Wool Textiles.

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Source: www.csiro.au/en/about/achievements/Our-history

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All textile fibres are able to absorb and desorb moisture vapour from the air around them as the moisture levels in this adjacent air rise and fall – a property known as hygroscopicity.
Wool absorbs almost 35% of its dry mass at 100% humidity, which is more than any other fibre.

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Source: The wool fibre and its applications. By Dr Geoff Naylor; CSIRO Textile and Fibre Technology.

The Australian Fibre Collective Inc. offered visitors to this year's Sheep and Wool Show at Bendigo,  the opportunity to win a treasure trove of 100% Aussie grown and manufactured products. In order to enter the draw,  all they had to do was:

1. Receive one entry form with every $25 spent on licensed Australian Fibre Collective products.

2. Complete the entry form/s at leisure and submit them with any participating Australian Fibre Collective Licensee.

3. Keep an eye on Facebook or Instagram at 2pm on Sunday to see if they won!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              The two delighted winners were Kate Murphy from NSW and Heather Scott from Victoria.                                                                                           The 1,595 entries are equivalent to a minimum of $39,875 spent on licensed 100% Australian grown and made products, which is up at least $10,000 on last year's Great Aussie Fibre Hamper.                                       Thanks to all who participated: both the licensees who donated product and to the visitors who purchased product to enter the draw. You all made the event such a success.                                                                                     

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Captain Henry Waterhouse and Lieutenant William Kent brought the first flock of 26 merinos from the Cape of Good Hope to Port Jackson in 1797.

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Ownership of these very special sheep was strictly controlled by the Spanish Royalty at this time, so it was only through deviousness and good fortune that they were able to gain ownership of these prized Merino Sheep.

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The sheep came from a flock originally given to Prince William of Orange in the Netherlands by King Carlos III of Spain. In 1789, the Prince had sent two rams and four ewes to the warmer Dutch colony at the Cape of Good Hope to be cared for by Colonel Robert Jacob Gordon.

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Gordon returned the original breeding animals in 1791 when ordered to do so by the Dutch government, but kept their offspring. Gordon’s wife inherited the sheep after his death, and sold them for £4 per head to Waterhouse and Kent.

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Captain John Macarthur, Reverend Samuel Marsden,Captain Thomas Rowley and William Cox were all involved in the early history of Merinos in Australia. If you want learn to more of this interesting story visit the source page.

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Source: https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/merino-sheep-introduced

 The Merino sheep breed was developed in Spain. These sheep were highly prized for their fine wool. In 1797 the first Merino sheep, derived from the famed Royal Merino Flocks of Spain, were introduced into Australia.

Source: https://www.woolmark.com/fibre/the-history-of-merino-wool/

​China is the country with the largest sheep population in the world. It is also the biggest wool producer by greasy fleece weight, Australia comes in second in both cases. (Source: International Wool Textile Organisation’s Market Information Edition 17; includes 2023 figures).

95% of all Australian clean wool (i.e. scoured or carbonised Australian sheep wool) is exported from Australia.  (Source Australian Wool Industries Secretariat Inc.)

Of the Wool that is scoured or carbonised in Australia, some of the coarser wools are used to make duvets, pillows and pillow top mattresses.

Of the small percentage of Merino clip that is scoured or carbonised in Australia, very little stays in Australia for further processing. Most of this clean Merino wool and other fine wools, will be re-baled and transported overseas for further processing.

So if you own a genuine 100% Australian grown and manufactured woollen garment or textile product you are lucky, as you possess something quite rare!

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The Australian Wool Innovation Ltd reported that the greasy wool production for the 2022/ 2023 financial year was approximately 328 million tonnes greasy according to the Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee. This is a rise of 1.3% on the previous year and attributed mainly to the good season experienced in the major wool growing regions of Australia. That is, there was an abundance of good feed for the sheep and they grew more wool!