Thursday, 17 May

Bill Blackwell took me for a run around ‘Corea’ to have a look at their cell grazing system, improved pastures, Merinos and farm forestry blocks.  Bill and Cee have always been ahead of their time when it comes to careful stewardship of the land and their boys are continuing with this.  A balance of environmental sensitivity and robust business decisions has created a property that is both beautiful and sustainable.

Cee has a new project – she has fully renovated the Corea shearers quarters – check them out on http://www.coreaquarters.com.au/ I can’t wait to come back with my boys – they will love it.

The afternoon was on the road again to Echuca, home of Nuffield Australia CEO, Jim Geltch.

Wednesday, 16 May

Dunkeld and the Blackwell family farm ‘Corea’ was the destination today.  Cee Blackwell had arranged a couple of visits for the afternoon.

Jackie O’Brien runs the ‘Hazel Green’ Shop in Hamilton, Vic which specializes in hand crafts particularly knitting and supplies for quilting and sewing. 

Jackie has seen knitting boom recently which she attributes to younger people wanting to return to the values of generations past.  It is part of the movement that includes farmers markets, backyard vegetable gardens and DIY.  She, and her customers, rate Merino very highly now that the prickle factor has been addressed but the favourite is definitely a blend of Merino, Alpaca and Silk – perfect for baby wear.

Jackie believes her customers are becoming more discerning about the provenance of the products that they buy – they want to know the ‘story’ behind the wool they are purchasing.  This is more important now than any organic or similar certification.

Bill and Jenny Crawford’s farm in the Victoria Valley was our next stop.  In the middle of shearing, the woolshed was the perfect place to start.

Sierra Park runs 8,000 Saxon Merino ewes on 2,400ha.  Lambing is split Spring and Autumn with the Autumn lambs sired by Southdown terminal rams.

Bill and Jenny are partners in a vertically intergrated supply of super fine wool called Escorial.  Google it and check out the catalogue.  This group has grabbed an extraordinary niche market and run with it.  Not easy at times and definitely not cheap the finished products are simply exquisite.  With such an exclusive provenance their customers are drawn into becoming part of the story.

I came away from meeting with Bill Crawford so inspired I was just about floating!!  How to transfer even a tiny percentage of his vision and enthusiasm to the rest of our wool industry – now that is a challenge!!

The message for the day – tell the story – it may be just the daily grind for us as producers but our consumers WANT to know.

Tuesday, 15 May

Melbourne traffic is a nightmare!!!  It took me as long to get across the city as it did to drive to Geelong.

Today I was the guest of Michael Boode, Export Marketing Manager at Godfrey Hirst.  I visited them at their carpet manufacture facility in Geelong. 

Carpet manufacture, like all similar industries, is now highly mechanized and computer control featured throughout the plant. 

Highlights included a 100% Merino carpet – (exquisitely soft, as you can imagine, and priced beyond comprehension!) and a computer controlled dyer/ printer which can generate the most amazingly accurate ‘artwork’ on carpet

The late afternoon was spent at the Australian Wool Museum.  While in need of some slightly fresher exhibits it was a pleasure to have a personal tour guide who was a wool grower before retiring.  The other highlight was a fully functional Axminster carpet loom which could weave a hall runner to order – I now know why those carpets never wore out – they were made to last!!

Monday, 14 May

My first night in Aus was spent with John and Fiona Tait in Melbourne.  John is a remarkable man with an illustrious career that I would never assume to recount in detail but suffice to say he has been extensively involved in publishing and has an active interest in the wool industry through several business ventures.

It was an absolute pleasure to discuss my first tentative thoughts on the global wool landscape.  He is extremely well versed in both the ‘front of house’ and the ‘behind the scenes’ behaviours of the industry and also the big picture of how commodities are traded on the world stage.  He maintains he is a cynic regarding wool but it is easy to see how he still believes in its intrinsic value and therefore the need to encourage well thought out action to create a more sustainable future for all involved.  I know I will gain many valuable insights from our discussions going forward.

Australia – May 2012

This has been an interesting trip to plan for.  I am much more used to (and probably more comfortable with) travelling with a particular destination and time frame in mind.  I have always known that I am going  somewhere to a job or conference for example, I will be there between certain dates and I will be meeting certain people.  The Nuffield style of travel is much more fluid but, in a way, more disciplined because we are responsible for making it all count.

So I find myself in Victoria, Australia starting out on my next adventure…