From the earliest days of the woollen industry in New Zealand there has been a demand for scouring the clip.
Scouring is the name for washing the shorn wool, getting rid of lanolin and ensuring that the fleece is clean. Before the advent of industrial processes, wool was sent “in the grease” to London to be sold at market but washing ensured a higher price so it was once a familiar sight to see the mills across the country. Once the scouring was done the fleeces were laid out in the sun and paddocks could be seen covered with white. The sun lifted the wool fibres and made them lofty, bleaching them to white and “colonial scoureds” became a highly sought-after commodity in the market.
A book, Woolscours of New Zealand – Tales of the early industry, has just been added to the library. The books explores through maps, images and text the stories of the development of the wool industry in the country. It promises to be an insightful and fascinating read.
The library is open to the public and anyone can come to the studio between 11 and 3 weekdays to sit and read. Although all the books are not catalogued yet sorting and cataloguing is in progress and the list will be online when that is done.