Wool Group At Lincoln

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31113, 16 July 1966, Page 9

Wool Group At Lincoln

A start has been made to occupy the new laboratories of the Wool Research Organisation at Lincoln, which have been erected at a cost of about £340,000. The new building will be officially opened towards the end of the year.

Moving into laboratories on the ground floor of the southern wing of the two-wing building this week were members of the staff of the Wool Industries Research Institute, which serves the interests of woollen mills and scourers. Since its inception in 1937 this organisation has been on the campus of the University of Otago. Dr. L. F. Story, who has been director of the organisation since 1950, said this week that it had been established initially as a division of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, known as the New Zealand Wool Manufacturers’ Research Association.

In 1945 it had been separately incorporated as the New Zealand Woollen Mills’ Research Association Inc. and up to 1957 it had worked for the manufacturing industry, and also latterly for the Wool Board as a contributor to its funds. In 1957 the wool scourers were also admitted to membership and the name of the organisation was changed again to the Wool Industries Research Institute and since then it had worked for the woollen mills and scourers.

When the organisation had initially worked solely for the woollen mills Dr. Story said

that Dunedin had been the best centre for its operations ; with four large mills within easy range. However when the wool scourers had come in the centre of gravity had ' tended to move northwards as there were more scouring organisations in the North ' Island than in the South Island. As far as the scour- ' ing and manufacturing industry as a whole was concerned, ; it was now probably a little ■ more centrally situated. Dr. Story said that when ■ the Wool Board and Depart- j ment of Scientific and In- ■ dustrial Research had decided to establish the Wool Re- ; search Organisation and to '■ build laboratories for it at ’ Lincoln, close to the college '■ which was also doing work on ■ sheep and wool production, it ■ had been thought that it ‘ would be a good idea to cen- 1 tralise wool research and the institute had been invited to ; come to Lincoln and its executive had agreed to this 1 course. Ait Lincoln Dr. Story said 1 that the institute would have ■ access to the laboratories of 1 the Wool Research Organisation and to specialised equipment that the organisation would have. The institute would, however, maintain its separate identity and control. Funds for it are provided by the woollen mills, the scourers, the Wool Board and the Government Dr. Story said that the institute’s work involved all aspects of processing and manufacturing., A lot of this work was done in association with scourers and mills and quite a lot of processing research was done as well as work on day-to-day problems. The institute had also carried out work on the growth and strength of wool. This

had started about 12 or 13 years ago with investigations into pre-lamb shearing. Dr. Story said that at that time wool buyers had felt that prelamb shorn wool might not be satisfactory for many manufacturing operations but work done by the institute had shown that the reverse was the case and in fact prelamb shorn wool was stronger and better in a physical sense than later shorn wools. This had led to investigations into the strength of wools generally and the effect on manufacturing operations. Lately the institute had begun work on carpet wools. Mr R. G. Stewart, the institute’s wool scouring officer, was now in the United States for the second time working on yellow fade in carpet wools and the institute was collaborating in this work. Mr Stewart was expected to return in about two months. The staff of the institute at present consists of three professional officers, not including Mr Stewart, and two research assistants. Because some of the institute’s technicians have not come to Lincoln with it. Dr. Story said this week that they would be looking for another three research assistants. Dr. Story came to New Zealand in 1947 from Leeds in England where he was working at the Wool Industries Research Association and he took over the directorship of the New Zealand organisation in 1950 from Professor F. G. Soper, who was the first director. In the photograph above Dr. Story (on the left) is shown outside the new laboratories with Mr N. F. Roberts, the director of the Wool Research Organisation.