Australia Is Making More Woollen Fabrics

Chronicle (Levin), 3 June 1949, Page 5

Australia Is Making More Woollen Fabrics

(N.Z.P.A.

. — Reuter*

Copyright)

Received Thursdav, 7 p.m. SYDNEY, June 2. Australia is preparmg for possible "storms" by strengthening her capacity for turning out woollen fabrics or serviceable quality at economie prices. Experts sav tliat the new textile inilustry is already firmly enough established to cushion the shock of a slump, and that as men and machines besonie available Australia will turn into a large exporter of clotli rather than or raw materials. Much of Australia 's London funds is going into the ,purchase of capitai equipment for new and enlarged wooi'en mills and textile faetories. As a partner of Xew Zealand and South Africa in baeking the International Wool Secretariat, Australia considers her conttribution of £600,000 a year towards the promotion and research as mojiey well spent. With Australia, however, as with the other Dominions, it is a race against time. Fantasticallv high prices still prevail in the wooi market, which has confounded all forecasts of an earlv and disastrous collapse. Saies for the first ten montns this season liave yielded £158,000,000, compared with £120,000,000 for the corresponding period last year, and the post-war carry-over of 10,400,000 bales, the disposal of which was expected to take twelve years, has been reduced to 1,600,000. The authorities know, however, that these prices are not permanent. During the past ten years the aevelopment of the woollen and worsted industrv has been nothing short of spectacular. Todav Australia provides all the essential woollen elothing needs of her own people and exports large quantities to other countries. Last year over one-fifth of all Austraiian wool produeed was used in local factories. In 1920 the capacity of Austraiian mills was only 129,000 bales, and in the following 19 years it grew slowly to 335.000 bales. Bv 1948. however. the

total had risen to 675,000 he.lb», and the aumber of woollen and worsted mills in the Commonwealth had increased in ten years from 75 to 114. The output oi cioth from these establishments increased from 27,000,000 square yards in 1939 to 36,000,000 in 1942. In Xew South Wales and Victqria Dver 19,000 men and women are engaged in the industrv, and" the figure eould be almost doubled were it not tor shortage of mill-hands and experieneed textile operators. United Kingdom workers in this eategory have the highest priority in the Austraiian immigration scheme. There have been cases where entire mills and eommunities have left Britain for Australia. One Sydney firm is already manufacturing fine " English " suitings previously made in Britain from Austraiian wool. Its destination is stated to be the local and New Zealand retail trade.