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“ The Yass Valley Woollen Mill ”
- “Be
natural about wool”
is to be established at “The Crisp Galleries”
A partnership between the Armour and Crisp Families .
The Yass Valley Woollen Mill ,
A centre of excellence for the commercial production of
yarn and fabric , the transparent control of natural fibre
from the grower to the consumer , the development of new
technologies , eco -sustainable , wool a carbon sink , a
facility linking to primary , secondary and tertiary education .
Press Release
Gary and Hansie Armour of “ TeKooti ” Bookham have been
the driving force and catalyst to establish a woollen mill in
the Yass Valley , the traditional home of superfine wool .
Gary and Hansie Armour have travelled extensively around
the world to gain a greater understanding and appreciation
of where the wool industry is placed in the 21st Century .
The current International Wool Market is less than 2% the
International Textile Market .
Virtually all of Australia‟s woollen and natural textile mills have
now closed .
Australian Wool Growers do not have control over their fibre
anymore and the technology that was developed in Australia
is going off shore .
The Armour and Crisp families are passionate about superfine
wool and its future , as a natural easily grown sustainable
carbon sink fibre .
Aim
It has been a long standing aim of the Armour family to
regain control of the wool they grow and clearly identify
fibre from the farm all the way to the consumer in an eco
sustainable , totally transparent supply chain from the sheep‟s
back to the end consumer .
Many consumers today expect to know what they are
buying is absolutely natural , sustainable , chemical free and
the animals involved have been treated in the best possible
way.
We are aiming to achieve a carbon neutral product , if not
a carbon positive product .
The “mission” of The Yass Valley Woollen Mill is to produce
an Australian grown and made , eco sustainable yarn and
fabric that can be totally transparent along the supply chain
and can be sold into the international market place .
Location .
“The Yass Valley Woollen Mill” will be located in the grounds
of “The Crisp Galleries” which were established in 1986 with
securing a commercial access onto the Hume Highway .
Since the early 80‟s “The Crisp Galleries” has grown into one
of the Yass Canberra region‟s major tourist attractions with
extensive gardens , a plant nursery , a performance space ,
gift galleries , artists in residence , conferences , wedding
receptions and community based activities .
Crisp Glass Australia was first established in 1982 and as a
family effort it has become world famous supplying shops
and individuals all around the world .
The Historic Building .
The historic “Gwandoban” Shearing shed ( circa 1856 ) will be
rebuilt in The Crisp Galleries Gardens and it will be the new
home for the Woollen Mill .
This building itself has a wonderful story .
It was first constructed at “Cunningham” Harden in 1856
massive shearing shed over 100 metres in length .
a
In 1912 Tom Garry won half the shearing shed in a game of
poker .
It is this half that Tom Garry moved from the Harden Region
to “Gwandoban” Binalong in 1914 .
Eight years ago the Crisp Family moved this historic building
and put it into storage at The Crisp Galleries and now it has
a new future in housing the woollen mill .
“Gwandoban” when reconstructed , will be 54 metres long
by 22 metres wide . Building began on the 15th June 2010 .
The visiting public will have full visual access to an operating
woollen mill in “The Great Hall” , the centre section of the
very original building will be raised a metre above the
operating plant secured by the original shed yard railings .
The Great Hall will have most of the original timber features ,
including the original equipment seen in an historic shed .
The architectural highlight are numerous opening and shutting
Georgian windows that run the full length of The Great Hall .
The Great Hall ,
The Great Hall , apart from being a viewing platform for the
mill , will function as a retail area for woollen and natural
fibre products , lectures , seminars and conferences .
Products and Services .
The Yass Valley Woollen Mill , Armour Crisp Pty Ltd , will sell
a range of woollen yarns , woollen tops , woollen dyes ,
designer fabric , commercial needs for industry from local
and export processes , function as a retail outlet , work
together with universities and scientists in developing new
technologies in education and in the promotion of the
Australian Wool Industry .
Product quality will be as good as , if not better than ,
anything available on the market at present but enhanced
by the environmental technologies and the complete
transparency of its supply chain .
Business Potential .
Wool today , in the world market place is under 2% .
The world opportunity for wool is enormous !
Public Visitation .
The Yass Valley Woollen Mill will be running most of the time
but the visiting public , from passing cars , will only have
access to the building , Friday to Monday , closed to the
passing traffic mid week . This will tie in with The Crisp
Galleries existing opening hours .
Education Facility .
We have met with the co-ordinator of 160,000 school
children , annual visitation numbers , to the Canberra Region.
We hope to attract children to see the production of wool
from the sheep‟s back to a saleable garment and all the
processes that are involved in making that product .
Science will play a key role in developing new treatments in
the processing of wool , which will work hand in hand with
Universities around Australia .
The Armour and Crisp Families are very excited to make this
their press release . Both families have been on the land now
for six generations.
The Yass Valley Woollen Mill is a serious commitment to the
wool industry to ensure its sustainability into the future .
Facts .
The Australian Wool Industry has been in decline for thirty years . Sheep
numbers across Australia have halved and wool prices barely cover the
cost of production .
Large and expensive industry wide schemes to address this situation
have failed again and again .
The damage to rural communities has been enormous with much of
Australia‟s wool processing infrastructure being shifted offshore .
The causes to this decline are easy to find with the competition of
other fibres combined with concerns about animal welfare .
China is processing 82% of the world‟s wool production so this limits
competition from other world markets .
Wool is being treated as a homogenous commodity being processed
in bulk using harsh chemical treatments that destroy the benefits of
wool such as comfort , warmth , durability and the most important
characteristic , its fire resistance .
Instead of enhancing wool , industry is sacrificing wool to compete with
other fibres !
Wool is passive , naturally safe , comfortable , warm and very durable !
It is time to do something different , “be natural about wool ” !
www.thecrispgalleries.com.au , peter@petercrisp.com.au , hansie47@hotmail.com
The Yass Valley Woollen Mill update January 2011
Currently the woollen mill ( English built ) has been placed in the
building and the worsted mill ( German built ) , now imported into
Australia from New Zealand , is being placed in the woollen mill .
Both mills are now in the process of being recommissioned .
Final construction of the massive old shearing shed will finish around
mid 2011 , (find on following pages the history of this building) .
A great number of people from all over Australia and New Zealand
are making a valued input into this major project to establish new
standards in the production and processing of a protein fibre .
All protein fibres are a natural carbon sink.
All these fibres can be produced in a way that is eco sustainable ,
taking a different approach to animal care and management .
Some meetings have already occurred with fabric buyers in the
overseas market place .
Samples have been sent to selected people and businesses here in
Australia and overseas for their comments and recommendations .
Orders for tops and Milkymerino TM have already been placed .
The Yass Valley Woollen Mill starts production in the next few months !
The Yass Woollen Mill building at “Cunningham Plains” , Harden NSW ,
Town and Country Journal 1872 .
Forty five blade shearers Cunningham Plains Shearing Shed 1905
photo supplied Mr Stan Davison . Canberra .
The Yass Valley Woollen Mill first built at “Cunningham Plains” , Harden
NSW , in the 1860‟s by the Salting family from Denmark . Construction
of the original building was by Scotsman David Campbell in the 1860‟s .
A journalist from Town and Country Journal visited the shearing shed
and wrote :
“ In magnitude and style is in keeping with other parts of the establishment .
It is a splendid structure , the form of a „T‟ , and far too good for the
purpose to which it is devoted . The main building is 200 feet in length , and
60 feet across . The top portion , or transept , is 100 feet in length , and
about 40 feet in width . It is principally constructed of colonial wood , the
flooring is of American timber , glass windows and skylights are also in the
lofty structure” .
After the Salting family moved to the United Kingdom , Sir Titus Salt
built the famous Bradford Woollen Mills , an architectural gem ,
employing 5000 people up to the early 1970‟s . The Bradford Mills
employed their own doctors , chemists , shopping centres and
restaurants for their employees .
Yass Valley Woollen Mill building at “Gwandoban” , Binalong NSW 2003 , reconstructed
by Tom Garry between 1912 to 1914 , taken from Cunningham Plains , Harden , NSW
Wool Room “Gwandoban” , Binalong NSW 2003 .
The Yass Valley Woollen Mill building “Great Hall”
at “Gwandoban” Binalong , NSW 2003
The “Great Hall” , Yass Valley Woollen Mill , under construction at The Crisp Galleries
February 2011
Yass Valley Woollen Mill , under construction at “The Crisp Galleries” February 2011
Worsted Spinning Frame relocated to The Yass Valley Woollen Mill
One of the Industrial Looms relocated to The Yass Valley Woollen Mill
Renske Carbona , “Colours of Australia” has just created a garment
from a fabric that will be manufactured here .
This wonderful material has been dyed from Eucalyptus leaves from the
Australian landscape and has a dyefast of 4 .
The Yass Valley Woollen Mill plans to work with designers from around
the world in creating very special garments for individuals , the fashion
industry and specific clothing companies .
We will be producing from scoured wool , woollen top , felt , blend
fibre with other natural fibre , spin yarn , ply and make knitting yarn ,
knit yarn , weave yarn for blankets and fabrics for garment production .
Carbon Credits
Government needs to carefully consider carbon credits .
Companies , businesses , individuals that work with materials that
capture and store carbon , that are natural , should be given a
positive carbon credit .
The Yass Valley Woollen Mill will be carbon positive .
The Yass Valley Woollen Mill located at The Crisp Galleries and on the
sheep property “Gap Range” , tens of thousands of trees have been
planted in the last five years in special fenced areas of the property ,
which gives a major carbon offset rehabilitating land , soils and
environment .
Wool and all the protein fibres store , capture and stabilise carbon for
hundreds of years . Every 7 kilos of wool grown captures more than 4
kilos of carbon .
Communities wearing wool saves heating and cooling costs . Wool can
be worn at all times of the year depending upon the thickness of
fibre.
The electricity to run the mill should be a carbon positive offset on the
woollen garments produced which in turn save heating and cooling
costs in the future all around the world .
Document compiled and written by Peter Crisp , Director , on behalf
of Armour Crisp Pty Ltd
The Yass Valley Woollen Mill
We look forward to being able to do all the processing in Australia as
The Yass Valley Woollen Mill comes on line . This will ultimately include
our new farm model that will allow a group of fine wool producers to
collectively return the 35 % soil , potassium & lanoline back onto their
farms as fertilisers & stock feed , grown in the associated proposed
biodome as water used is recycled .
This will then assure that our production here at The Yass Valley Woollen
Mill lives up to the principals it has adopted .
Totally transparent from farm to consumer .
No chemicals used .
A carbon positive foot print ( 4kg out of 7kg greasy wool
approx is sequestered carbon )
Totally biodegradable & recyclable .
Hansie Armour Director , Armour Crisp Pty Ltd December 2010
Pty Ltd Jan 2010 .