Historical information

Part of a collection of photographs previously housed at Victorian Wool Processors (VWP), who were the last early stage wool processing company in Melbourne, and the second last in Victoria. The photographs were collected from other companies as they closed, and were donated to the museum by David Ritchie who was the General Manager at VWP.

Victoria Wool Processors (Aust) Pty Ltd was founded by Jim Kim in 1983 as a dedicated international wool trading firm. Seeking greater quality control, the company opened its first physical processing plant in Melbourne in 1990 before scaling up to a state-of-the-art, 24-hour carbonising and scouring facility at Laverton North in 2002.

For decades, it stood as one of the largest early-stage wool processing operations in the Southern Hemisphere, known for incorporating modern water-recycling and waste-management infrastructure. However, a severe domestic energy crisis and soaring natural gas prices forced the permanent closure of its manufacturing plant in December 2024, culminating in the company's official corporate liquidation in April 2026.

This photo shows the final sale to take place at the Melbourne Wool Selling Centre located off Geelong Road in Brooklyn, Victoria on 30th June 2010.

Physical description

Colour photograph featuring a group portrait of people seated and standing inside a room.

Inscriptions & markings

front: [printed] SOUTHERN WOOL TRADE / Final sale at 691 Geelong Rd. Brooklyn / 30/06/2010