History
1916
In the First World War, wool was urgently needed for military uniforms and other military purposes. In 1916 the British government purchased the entire Australian wool clip at a fixed price for the duration of the war and one year after. Because of a scarcity of ships, not all was sent overseas, but the abundance of wool gave Britain and her allies a big advantage over Germany where wool became scarce.
It was in this year when upcoming French designer, Gabrielle Chanel, was shown an experimental collection of machine made knitted wool by a textile manufacturer named Jaque Rodier, which he called jersey - the fabric was originally designed for mens underwear. Chanel had enabled women to be comfortable and move about freely in their clothes and look chic and as a result changed the direction of fashion forever.
1918
Post the First World War the era of fashion changed; which led to a more practical approach: Short hair, skirts above the knee and tweed car coats. Women became less overtly feminine. Chanel and others - notably Jean Patou - adopted and embellished the androgynous style and wool was always a feature of the collections.
1920
By the mid 1920s the United Kingdom, which had an established and expanding textile industry, was purchasing about 50% (44%) of total wool exports. However, Japan and the United States were among Australia’s best customers for its wool.
1927
The federal parliament moved to the new capital city of Canberra, the site of which had been a sheep station in the 19th century.
1930
Wool continued to dominate the nation’s exports, and represented over 62% of the total export value of primary products.
1934
Japan became increasingly important as a buyer of Australian wool. In the financial year ending June 1934 Japan’s purchases of wool accounted for two thirds of Australia’s total exports to South and East Asia.
1937
IWS formed and the formula for its funding by the three original partner countries (Australia, New Zealand, South Africa) agreed.
1939
Merino wool was so important to the war effort that Britain again bought all Australia’s wool for the duration of the Second World War. As the war went on, shearers were prohibited from volunteering for war service.
1941
Sheep numbers reached 125.2 million in Australia.
1947
Scientists in Europe and United States developed instruments for measuring the mean fibre diameter, wool's most important characteristic. The projection microscope and the Airflow instrument (used to measure wool fibre diameter) became common. Sheep numbers fall to 95.7 million, at the end of yet another long drought.
1951
Prosperity in the Australian wool industry during the 20th century peaked. The Korean War did much to boost the price of wool. The entire UK stockpile of 10.4 million bales was sold, as well as the wool bought at the floor price. The price of wool remained relatively favourable until the mid 1950s.
1954
Young designer Yves Mathieu Saint Laurent won first and third prize in the dress category of the International Wool Secretariat competition, Paris. The following year Yves Saint Laurent is named head designer at Dior. At the same awards event a young 21 year old designer, Karl Lagerfeld, won the first prize in the coat category. The following year Lagerfeld was awarded a position with designer Pierre Balmain.