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Handling the Threat to Wool from Synthetics

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Emerging from an Entrenched Colonial Economy

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Economic History ((PEHS))

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Abstract

Chapter 9 reports that at first after World War II New Zealand woolgrowers did not see the threat from synthetics as a major threat. Growers paid for the International Wool Secretariat (IWS) to deal with the threat but growers only vaguely understood what the IWS did and doubted that it helped them. The Wool Board did not share the doubts and doubled the woolgrowers’ contribution in 1964 causing woolgrowers to question more definitively how they benefitted from IWS activities. Following a major price collapse of 1966–1968, woolgrowers doubted even more strongly the IWS’s value. The Wool Board’s financial weaknesses in the late 1960s persuaded the government to contribute to IWS costs but the government shared the woolgrowers’ doubts. Eventually, in the 1970s, the Wool Board began to share those doubts and started, itself, to promote New Zealand wool sales overseas.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    ‘The Threat of Synthetics’, Straight Furrow, 15/06/1946, 35, ATL.

  2. 2.

    ‘The Threat of Synthetics’, Straight Furrow, 15/06/1946, 35, ATL.

  3. 3.

    Visit: British Rayon Delegation, EA1, Box 243, 59/3/1/57, Part 1, ATL. The Delegation visited, between April and June 1945, woollen mills in Otago and met various trade organisations in addition to meeting Walter Nash, who was acting Prime Minister at the time.

  4. 4.

    ‘Rayon Manufacturing In New Zealand’, Straight Furrow, 15/05/1945, 15, ATL. The article, whilst making clear the hostility of Federated Farmers, allows Ashley to make the case for rayon as a complement and not a competitor for wool. This is an example of the policy of Straight Furrow informing farmers even of views opposed by Federated Farmers.

  5. 5.

    Woollen Milling in New Zealand, 24/10/1958, Federated Farmers, 90 – 343 MSY–2736, M&W140/1958, 3, ATL.

  6. 6.

    ‘Advice on Handling the Wool Clip’, Straight Furrow, 15/02/1947. 26/7, ATL.

  7. 7.

    ‘Tar Branding of Wool’, Straight Furrow, 15/12/1947, 37, ATL; ‘Continental Textile Manufacturers Complain About Tarry Wool’, Straight Furrow, 15/03/1949, 35, ATL.

  8. 8.

    ‘Tar Branding of Wool’, Straight Furrow, 15/12/1947, 37, ATL.

  9. 9.

    ‘Spoilage through brands – Overseas Buyers Restive’, The Press, 20/6/1952.

  10. 10.

    Roger Buchanan, The Last Shepherd: Anecdotes and Observations from five decades in the Wool Industry (Wellington: Ngaio Press, 2012), 113.

  11. 11.

    ‘No Satisfactory Substitute: Wool Stands Supreme’, Straight Furrow, 01/06/1952, 29, ATL.

  12. 12.

    ‘World Production of Chief Industrial Fibres’, Straight Furrow, 01/06/1957, 50, ATL.

  13. 13.

    ‘More Man-Made Fibres, Less Demand For Wool’, Straight Furrow, 23/08/1961, 23, ATL.

  14. 14.

    Chairman’s Address to the Electoral Committee, 19/03/1959, Federated Farmers MSY–2737, M&W10/1959, 11, ATL.

  15. 15.

    Chairman’s Address to the Electoral Committee, 27/08/1959, Federated Farmers MSY–2737, M&W39/1959, 3, ATL.

  16. 16.

    Address by Chairman of the Wool Board to the Meat and Wool Section, 23/03/1961, Federated Farmers, 90 – 343 MSY–2737, M&W27/1961, 10, ATL.

  17. 17.

    ‘Bigger Spending for Research and Promotion’, Straight Furrow, 15/02/1961, 21, ATL; ‘Man Who Directs Battle for Wool’s Future’, Straight Furrow, 19/12/1962, 1, ATL.

  18. 18.

    Wool Board Minutes, 31/01/1961, 9–10, ANZ.

  19. 19.

    Wool Board Minutes, 01/03/1961, 2, ANZ.

  20. 20.

    International Wool Secretariat, Dept. Industries and Commerce, 29/01/1963, AAQW–WW3379, Box39, 1/5, ATL. This paragraph and the next are a summary of a report of the meeting of the New Zealand Trade Commissioner in Delhi with the IWS Managing Director. The Commissioner produced a summary of the meeting for the Department of Industries and Commerce in Wellington. It seems that woolgrowers did not see that report.

  21. 21.

    ‘“Drip Dry Wool Will Take the Lead”’, Straight Furrow, 16/09/1959, 8, ATL.

  22. 22.

    Final Report on the Marketing of New Zealand Wool to the New Zealand Wool Board – Recommendations, 13/08/1971, Acland Family Papers, MB44, MBL.

  23. 23.

    Carter and MacGibbon, 207.

  24. 24.

    Address by Chairman of the Meat and Wool Section, 21/06/1961, Federated Farmers, 90 – 343 MSY–2736, M&W20/1961, 2, ATL.

  25. 25.

    Chairman’s Address to the Meat and Wool Section, 21/06/1961, Federated Farmers, 90 – 343 MSY–2738, M&W20/1961, 11, ATL.

  26. 26.

    Chairman’s Address to the Meat and Wool Section, 21/06/1961, Federated Farmers, 90 – 343 MSY–2736, M&W20/1961, 5/6, ATL.

  27. 27.

    ‘Increased Wool Levy “Essential”’, Straight Furrow, 07/11/1962, 19, ATL.

  28. 28.

    ‘Wool Scheme “Too Big”’, Straight Furrow, 21/08/1963, 20, ATL.

  29. 29.

    Wool Board Levy, 27/08/1973, Federated Farmers 90–343–04/3, M&W51/1973, 7, ATL; ‘IWS Budget Explanation Wanted’, Straight Furrow, 03/06/1964, 23, ATL.

  30. 30.

    ‘Big Rise In I.W.S Budget’, Straight Furrow, 04/07/1962, 28, ATL.

  31. 31.

    ‘Who Should Pay For IWS Work?’, Straight Furrow, 17/06/1964, 4, ATL.

  32. 32.

    Address by the Chairman of the international Wool Secretariat Board, 17/01/1964, International Wool Secretariat, Dept. Industries and Commerce, AAQW–WW3379, Box39, 1–8, ANZ. The two paragraphs summarise Gunn’s speech.

  33. 33.

    Address by the Managing Director of the International Wool Secretariat, 17/01/1964, International Wool Secretariat, Dept. Industries and Commerce, AAQW–WW3379, Box39, 1–5, ATL.

  34. 34.

    Buchanan, 124.

  35. 35.

    Carter and MacGibbon, 228–241.

  36. 36.

    Chairman’s Address to the Meat and Wool Section, 23/06/1965, Federated Farmers, 90 – 343 MSY–2737, M&W18/1965, 2, ATL.

  37. 37.

    The International Wool Secretariat: A Review, 30/04/1969, Federated Farmers, 90 – 343 MSY–2745, M&W23/1969, 1–10, ATL.

  38. 38.

    Minutes of the Meat and Wool Section Council Meeting, 30/04/1969, Federated Farmers, 90 – 343 MSY–2745, M&W24/1969, 5, ATL.

  39. 39.

    Financial Assistance for Wool Promotion, 31/03/1969, International Wool Secretariat, Dept. Industries and Commerce, AAQW–WW3379, Box39, 2, ANZ.

  40. 40.

    Report to the New Zealand Electoral College, undated (probably March 1972), International Wool Secretariat, Dept. Industries and Commerce, AAQW–WW3379, Box39, ANZ. The following two paragraphs summarise Maiden’s report.

  41. 41.

    Report to the New Zealand Electoral College, undated (probably March 1972), International Wool Secretariat, Dept. Industries and Commerce, AAQW–WW3379, Box39, 18, ANZ.

  42. 42.

    Marketing Programme of the New Zealand Wool Board and the New Zealand Wool Commission, 26/11/1968, AALR W5427 873 Box 774, 1–13, ANZ.

  43. 43.

    B. Toyne, and eleven others, The Global Textile Industry (London: George Allen and Unwin, 1984), 88–90.

  44. 44.

    IWS Grant for Research and Development, 02/11/1970, Wool (raw) Administration, International Wool Secretariat Constitution Function Reports, AAQW – WW3379 Box 39 Part 1, 8/1/18, ANZ.

  45. 45.

    Wool Board Finance, Wool (raw) Administration, 24/05/1971, International Wool Secretariat Constitution Function Reports, AAQW – WW3379 Box 39 Part 1, 8/1/18, 2, ANZ.

  46. 46.

    Buchanan, 124.

  47. 47.

    Minister of Agriculture to B S Trolove, 04/11/1971, Wool (raw) Administration, International Wool Secretariat Constitution Function Reports, Wool (raw) – Administration – International Wool Secretariat Constitution Function Reports, AAQW – WW3379 Box 39 Part 2, 8/1/18, ANZ.

  48. 48.

    Carter and MacGibbon, 210.

  49. 49.

    B S Trolove to the Minister of Agriculture, 09/11/1971, AAQW – WW3379 Box 39 Part 2, 8/1/18, ANZ.

  50. 50.

    Chairman’s Address to the Electoral Committee, 28/08/1969, Federated Farmers, 90 – 343 MSY–2745, M&W61/1969, 14, ATL.

  51. 51.

    Final Report on the Marketing of New Zealand Wool, 13/08/1971, Sir John Marshall Collection, MS–1403 121/05, 52, ATL.

  52. 52.

    Final Report on The Marketing Of New Zealand Wool, 13/08/1971, Sir John Marshall Collection, MS–1403 121/05, 1, ATL. 1.

  53. 53.

    Wool Board Chairman’s Address to the Electoral Committee, 28/08/1969, Federated Farmers, 90 – 343 MS–Y2747, M&W61/1969, 11, ATL.

  54. 54.

    Buchanan, 156.

  55. 55.

    Address by the Chairman of the Wool Board to the Meeting of the Electoral Committee and the New Zealand Wool Board, 22/08/1972, 3, Acland Family papers, collection MB44, MBL.

  56. 56.

    ‘Depressed Wool Prices: How to Improve Returns’, Straight Furrow, 19/11/1970, 4, ATL.

  57. 57.

    Report to the New Zealand Electoral College, undated, International Wool Secretariat, Dept. Industries and Commerce, AAQW–WW3379, Box39, 13–15, ANZ.

  58. 58.

    ‘Secrecy Will Surround Woolblendmark Symbol’, Straight Furrow, 06/01/1972, 3, ATL

  59. 59.

    Meeting of the Wool Boards and the IWS, 02/03/1972, AAQW – WW3379 Box 39 Part 2, 5, ANZ.

  60. 60.

    The Wool Board and the IWS – The View of Board Staff, 01/03/1972, No.335, Acland family papers, Collection MB44, MBL.

  61. 61.

    Integrating Strategic Management and Control, March 1974, P338.176314 MACK 1974, (i), ATL.

  62. 62.

    ‘I.W.S., With Finance, Will Boost Wool’, Straight Furrow, 06/06/1962, 17, ATL.

  63. 63.

    Note on the International Wool Secretariat, 07/12/1960, International Wool Secretariat, Dept. Industries and Commerce, AAQW–WW3379, Box39, 1–2, ANZ.

  64. 64.

    Wool Board Chairman’s Address to the Electoral Committee, 02/03/1966, Federated Farmers, 90 – 343 MSY–2742, M&W80/1966, 4, ATL.

  65. 65.

    Buchanan, 265–267, Carter and MacGibbon, 304.

  66. 66.

    Buchanan, 283.

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  1. Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

    David Hall

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Hall, D. (2017). Handling the Threat to Wool from Synthetics. In: Emerging from an Entrenched Colonial Economy. Palgrave Studies in Economic History. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53016-1_9

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