The story of 90 years of wool classing between father & son begins in 1936, when a young boy by the name of Stanley James Hucker walked through the doors of the Gordon Technical School in Geelong. Born in 1921, Stanley was 15 years of age when he began his 3-year course in Wool Classing. 30 years later, Stanley’s second son Denis completed the same 3-year wool classing course. Beginning in 1966, Denis attended the same Gordon Technical School and walked the same halls as his father before him. Stanley finished his course in 1938. He went back to the family farm in Lake Bolac for a brief period before enrolling in the Second World War. At the completion of the war, Stanley returned home and married before gaining a soldier settler allotment, north of Willaura. This enabled Stan to use his wool classing knowledge. He ran between 1,500 and 2,000 sheep for many years, while his wool classer stencil also allowed him to go out and class at various sheds around the area. He held his stencil from 1938 until he retired at the age of 60 in 1981. On retirement, his second son Denis was working in the district, managing a local property while also leasing land himself. Upon his father’s retirement, Denis had the opportunity to lease his father’s farm, an opportunity he could not refuse. Denis had finished his wool classing course at the Gordon Technical School in 1968, graduating dux of his class. He began working with a local contractor and started classing wool in his team. Denis gained a great deal of experience working as part of this team in big sheds of up to 8 stands servicing between 10 & 20,000 sheep. It was not all smooth sailing for Denis however, and he soon learnt an important lesson. Class wool the way you’re taught, don’t listen to the owner standing over your shoulder. At a clip of Corriedales near Casterton, Denis was pushing too many fleeces into the line of fine wool. This resulted in a notice from the Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX) “mixing counts too much, submit three clips for inspection”. Denis was able to submit 3 clips with no further complaints, however, this proved a valuable lesson he would never forget over his long career classing wool. In the early 1980s, when Denis was leasing two properties including his father’s, things were going well until drought struck. February 1983 was the date of the Ash Wednesday bushfires, and saw Melbourne have three days over 40 °C for only the second time on record. This period saw Denis give away farming, turning towards contracting work instead. After the difficult times of the early 1980s, the next two decades were a good time for the sheep industry. 15 micron wool was selling for prices between 4 to 5,000 cents per kilo, double what you’d expect for the same wool in 2022. In 1995 a single bale of wool sold for a million dollars. This was a good time for Denis too. His contracting work saw him employing local shearers and shed staff. His team was involved with the shearing and classing of more than 130,000 sheep. After 20 years of contracting, it was time for Denis to transition into the next phase of his life. He gave up independent contracting, preferring instead to return to being a member of someone else’s team. In 2018, having completed 50 years of wool classing, it was time to call it a day and retire completely. At the annual Gordon Wool School Old Students Association dinner held in 2018, Denis was presented with his 50 years as a registered wool classer stencil awarded by the Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX). This is a rare honour achieved by few. As of February 2020, a total of 430 wool classers had achieved this 50-year milestone. For Denis however, his proudest achievement is achieving 90 years of wool classing with his father. The National Wool Museum is proud to share the collection of objects gained from 90 years in the wool classing industry by Stanley and Denis. This ranges from Stanley’s first stencil and Wool Sample book, started when he first attended the Gordon in 1936. The collection concludes 90 years later with Denis’ 50 years of wool classing Stencil. The collection contains many more objects, all telling the story of these 90 years, and the hard work invested by this dedicated father and son duo.Large black bound book with ribbon for fastening containing 12 double-sided blue pages. Pages have several samples of shorn wool mounted and annotated to include information such as specific breeding, shearing faults, and geographical area. The book concludes with four pages without wool samples. Two of these pages relate to plans for a shearing shed and other industry related structures. The final two-pages relate to the anatomy of a sheep. Wool sample books were constructed by Wool Classing students at the Gordon Technical School as examples of what to look for when classing wool. The students were tasked with constructing these books with samples they retrieved themselves from several different farms and animals. The book would serve as a reference point for the wool classers throughout their years in the field, it was always on hand to refresh knowledge. This book was constructed by Stanley Hucker over his schooling at the Gordon between 1936 and 1938Front Cover. Handwritten, White Ink "Stanley Hucker / Samples"90 years wool classing between father & son, wool classing, gordon technical school

Lanasyn Dyestuffs Lanasyn Brilliant Dyestuffs Chemicals for Dyeing and Finishing Wool - Ciba, 1968Lanasyn Dyestuffs Lanasyn Brilliant Dyestuffs Chemicals for Dyeing and Finishing Wool - Ciba, 1968dyeing, sandoz limited, acrylic

Pastel and fashion shades on wool with Erioclarite B - J.R. Geigy A.G., Basel (Schweiz)"Pastel and fashion shades on wool with Erioclarite B" - J.R. Geigy A.G., Basel (Schweiz)dyeing, j.r. geigy soc. an.

Piece of wool left over by Sylvia Maidment 1944-1948.knitting, maidment, mr ian maidment, ms sylvia

Matilda was a Merino ewe who went missing for over 5 years on cattle country just outside of Hamilton. When she was found she had over 30 kgs of fleece that needed to be shorn. She was shorn in Melbourne's Federation Square in 2005. Her fleece was then processed into fabric by CSIRO. The fleece made enough fabric for six jackets. The jackets were auctioned at Crown Palladium Ballroom in March of that year. The winners had their jacket tailored to their measurements by Blazzer. All profits from the auction went to Celebration of Life, a fund established to support Victoria's Royal Children’s Hospital neonatal unitFour samples of wool in the different stages of process. The first two are of the raw fleece from the sheep, the second has been washed and combed, the third a fabric sample created from the wool.wool, sheep, merino wool, missing sheep, maltilda, fleece, csiro

rural life, peopleCopy of B/W Photograph, Shearing at "Larundel" c 1900, shearers standing around a bale of wool outside shedbuninyong, larundel, shearers, wool

"Dennys, Lascelles Limited Annual Wool Report August, 1954"5 copies of the report, 18pp: Small blue coloured soft cover booklet with texture finish, with title and date in black ink. Stapled twice at left. Dennys, Lascelles Limited Annual Wool Report August 1954wool brokering, wool growing, dennys, lascelles limited

Black and white copy of original photograph of a team of horses with a load of wool with a man on the front of the wagon and one man sitting on top of the load. Buildings and trees are in the background.w m grigg, wool, farm

"The new Australian Wool Corporation Clip Inspection Service" - K J Whiteley and Sandra J Welsman."The new Australian Wool Corporation Clip Inspection Service" - K J Whiteley and Sandra J Welsman.woolclassing - objective measurement wool marketing wool - measurement wool sales sheep stations - management, australian wool corporation, wool clip preparation, woolclassing - objective measurement, wool marketing, wool - measurement, wool sales, sheep stations - management

This book was owned by the late Dr Elizabeth Kerr and was donated to the Museum by the executor of her estate, Margaret Cameron. It was published by the Australian Wool Corporation to be given away with the magazine "Family Circle". It contains patterns for crocheted toy sheep, as well as knitting patterns for womens, mens and childrens garments.PURE NEW WOOL / Your / Family Knitting / with wool / Pattern Book / 11 Patterns for all your Family / from Family Circle and / The Australian Wool Corporation.knitting handicrafts - history crochet, family circle australian wool corporation, knitting, handicrafts - history, crochet

Image depicting the Sydney Wool Exchange. The donor's father (Wilhelm Eckles) had this picture on his office wall over his 43 year career in the wool industry. The image was possibly won at an event such as a Wool Ball but exact details have been forgotten.Artwork drawn on paper with wood and gold frame. Artwork depicts the Sydney Wool Exchange in the Background with trees on either side in the foreground and low vegetation bellow.Signed, bottom right corner: John Van Vliet Rear, lettering: This Picture Belongs to W.M. Eckels 17 Bushlands Ave Gordonsydney wool exchange

The book belonged to Mrs Bessie Neil, a daughter of Mr and Mrs William McKenzie who came from Scotland, possibly in the 1860s, and were employed at Glenample station, near Port Campbell. In about 1905, the Neills moved to South Africa, and the cookery book went with them. Recently Mrs Roger Pearce, formerly Lorraine Snell, who is married to a great grandson of Bessie Neill, thought it fitting that the book should be returned to this locality, and sent it to her mother, Mrs Mary Snell. Wool Wool Cookery Book Publisher F W Cheshire Printed in Camperdown by the Camperdown Chronicle 1903 inside cover has hand writting Bessie Keill, "Merkeering" (W), 27 Browning Street, Moonee Ponds. March 16th 04 flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, wool wool cookery book, book, glenample homestead

This is a badge of an Australian association of fellmongers, wool sorters and scourers. This group may have been part of the Amalgamated Fellmongers, Wool Sorters and Wool Scourers Union of 1912-1918 or it may have been an earlier association. A fellmonger was a dealer in the hides or skins of animals, especially sheep, or a person who removed the skins from animals. There were several fellmongery and wool scouring establishments in 19th century Warrnambool and district. These included the Dallimore Fellmongery at Lake Gillear, the Bennett Merri Bank Fellmongery at Dennington and the fellmongery businesses of James Evenett and Henry Mawbey on the Merri River in South Warrnambool.Although it has no known local provenance, this badge is of interest because there were several fellmongery establishments in the Warrnambool district in the 19th century so it may have belonged to a local person.This medallion has a gold coloured image of a suspended lamb on a circular royal blue enamel background which in turn is surrounded by a white enamel annulus with text. The external brass edging is filigree. The medallion has an attached ring at the top with narrow gold ribbon threaded through an additional ring FELLMONGERS WOOL SORTERS & SCRS' . AUST. WOOLANDSKIN 82? G.P.O.PLACE W fellmongers, warrnambool history, dallimore fellmongery, bennett merri bank fellmongery, james evenett, henry mawbey

This hank of knitting yarn was manufactured under the brand name 'Sun-glo' and was produced by F.W. Hughes Pty Ltd at the Alexandria Spinning Mills in Sydney.Sun-glo 2 ply wool produced by F.W. Hughes Pty Ltd at the Alexandria Spinning Mills, Sydney, NSW, c.1950-60.Sun-glo / Shrinkproof / WOOL / SUPER / 2 / PLY / AN / ALEXANDRIA / MILLS PRODUCT Guarantee / SUN-GLO WOOL / has been / manufactured by a / NEW PATENT / PROCESS / It is guaranteed / UNSHRINKABLE for / the lifetime / of the / Garment. / MANUFACTURED BY / F.W. HUGHES PTY. LTD. / AT THEIR / ALEXANDRIA SPINNING MILLS SYDNEYknitting handicrafts - history textile mills textile mills, f.w. hughes pty ltd alexandria spinning mills pty ltd, knitting, handicrafts - history, textile mills

"Dalgety's Annual Wool Review for Australasia: 1915-1916". Part of the NWM Woolbroker's Office exhibit until late 1990's.Three copies. Report, 87pp: Book, tan soft cover, printed blue. Dalgety's Annual Wool Review for Australasia: 1916-1917wool stores wool brokering world war i, dalgety and company limited, wool stores, wool brokering, world war i

"Dalgety's Annual Wool Review for Australasia: 1918-1919". Part of the NWM Woolbroker's Office exhibit until late 1990's.Two copies. Report, 60pp: Book, cream soft cover, printed blue. Dalgety's Annual Wool Review for Australasia: 1918-1919wool stores wool brokering world war i, dalgety and company limited, wool stores, wool brokering, world war i

"Dalgety's Annual Wool Review for Australasia: 1923-1924". Part of the NWM Woolbroker's Office exhibit until late 1990's.Two copies. Report, 140pp: Book, cream soft cover, printed black. Dalgety's Annual Wool Review for Australasia: 1923-1924wool stores wool brokering, dalgety and company limited, wool stores, wool brokering

"Federaton Flora" was created by 13 members of the Geelong Handweavers and Spinners Guild Inc for the centenary of Federation in Australia. It won 1st prize in the Australian Sheep and Wool Show, Bendigo, 2000.Australian Sheep and Wool Show, Woolcraft Competitionhandicrafts, geelong handweavers and spinners guild inc., felting, hand spinning, hand knitting, weaving

Demonstrates the typical vehicle of the time of the picture. Demonstrated the mode of transport for agricultual goods.Shows the means of transport for agricultural goods in the period.Black and white rectangular picture. Featuring a early truck with tray. The truck is stacked with wool bales and is tide with thick rope. There is a dog curled up on top of the cabin of the truck. A male is leaning against the door with his thumb in his pants, smiling. On the bonnet of the truck the letter "P" can be seen.On back "Ron with the truck & a load of wool on" written in grey lead.

"Catalogue of Improved Machinery for Preparing, Carding and Spinning Wool" - John Hetherington and Sons Limited, proprietors of Curtis, Sons and Co., c.1930.Book: "Catalogue of Improved Machinery for Preparing, Carding and Spinning Wool" - John Hetherington & Sons Limited, Manchester, c.1930.textile machinery, john hetherington and sons limited curtis, sons and co., carding, spinning machinery, scribbling, cloth - woollen, cloth - worsted

"Dennys, Lascelles Limited Annual Wool Report August, 1951"2 copies. Light grey paperback stapled booklet entitled "Dennys, Lascelles Annual Wool Report August, 1951" including advice & information. 15p.wool brokering, wool growing, dennys, lascelles limited

"Dalgety's Annual Wool Review for Australia and New Zealand: 1930-1931". Part of the NWM Woolbroker's Office exhibit until late 1990's.Two copies. Report, 181pp: Book, cream soft cover, maritime illustration printed blue.Dalgety's Annual Wool Review for Australia and New Zealand: 1930-1931wool stores wool brokering, dalgety and company limited, wool stores, wool brokering

"Textile Mercury Annuals:The Wool year book and diary 1914".Book, 592 pages. Dark green hard backed book, green cord bookmark, thumb cutouts designating the sections. Includes statistics, supplier lists, descriptions and specifications of processes, diary in blue paper.Cover: 'Textile Mercury' / Annuals / The Wool / Year Book / 1914. / With / CRITOHLEY, SHARP & TETLOW'S / Complimentstextile industry textile machinery textile history, textile mercury ltd, textile industry, textile machinery, textile history

This stencil was used as a wool classification stamp for the transportation of wool bales.Wool bale export stencil with an Australian symbol bordering the number 34 with wool underneath. 34 WOOLexport, wool sales export - wool wool - transportation