Historical information
Cloth sample from an opera cloak made in England c. 1820 from wool clipped from Macarthur's merino sheep in 1816.
The cloak was passed down through the family to Harold Lethbridge with whom the main part of the cloak resides, in Narrandera. The fragment was passed to Lethbridge's niece who gave it to the donor's mother who passed it onto him and then it was donated to the National Wool Museum. The cloth fragment was tested by Gordon Institute of Technology in 1974 showing the wool to be very fine (15-16 microns) which is consistent with the pure lineage of Macarthur's sheep.
The cloth fragment was framed in 1952 and remains in the original frame to this day.
Cloth sample form an opera cloak made in England c. 1820. Wool for the cloak was clipped from John Macarthur’s merino sheep in 1816.
Macarthur is recognised as the pioneer of the wool industry that was to boom in Australia in the early 19th century and become a trademark of the nation. Macarthur was responsible for the first bale of Australian wool to be exported. The British woollen mills were desperate for wool at the time because of the Napoleonic blockade, and the Australian bale sold for a record price.
Australia needed a product to sell in European markets which did not perish during long sea-voyages and which offered high value per unit of weight. Wool also had a ready market in England because the Napoleonic Wars had increased demand and cut English cloth-makers off from their traditional source of quality wool, Spain.
Australia's first $2 banknote featured John Macarthur thanks largely to his establishment of wool as the backbone of the early Australian economy.
Physical description
Red fabric sample folded in half and mounted in the centre of a brown metal frame.
Inscriptions & markings
'ARCO' MADE IN ENGLAND
