Historical information
One of thirty eight photographs from a photo album featuring images of the Returned Sailors and Soldiers Woollen Mill in Newtown, Geelong.
The images were taken between the 1960's-1970's by Norm Holroyd who worked at the mills. They were developed in his own private dark room and kept at his home for private viewing.
The Returned Sailors and Soldiers Woollen Mill operated as a self-sufficient co-operative, funded and run by World War I veterans using their War Gratuity Bonds. The facility functioned as a complete raw-to-finished assembly line where raw fleece was brought on-site to be scoured, carded, dyed, spun into yarn and woven.
It specialised in heavy worsted cloths, high-quality tweed, and its signature "Retsol" and "Monarch" pure-wool travelling rugs, later adapting its machinery to blend natural wool with artificial fibres as mid-century market demands shifted.
Physical description
Black and white photograph attached to cardboard backing with sticky tape. Image shows a man standing at a loom. Backing card has four holes in left side.
Inscriptions & markings
back: [handwritten] 19
