New Zealand Wool History

Wool became important to our economy in the nineteenth century, with the development of sheep farming and the rise of big estates.
Today, there are around 25,000 farms in New Zealand, with about 28 million sheep spread across them. Most of these sheep need their wool removed regularly.

There was a time when all sheep were shorn by hand, but today shears are mostly mechanised. Shearing has since got faster, but hasn't meant shearers have to be any less skilled. For a few of them, hand shears still have advantages, for example they don't shear the sheep completely naked. Instead, the animals are still left with a very fine coating of wool, which is helpful in cold climates. This is called pre-lamb shearing where the best wool is obtained.

The wool fibre is unique. It can be worn all year round.
Cool in summer - very warm in winter.

Traditionally wool was sold by auction, but there has been a steady decline in the production of wool sold in this way. Many farmers now choose to sell wool to private buyers and end – users. Farmers are keen to develop relationships with processors so they receive information from end users and adjust their wool specifications to market requirements.

All our wool sold in New Zealand is tested at NZWTA OR SGS, which provides objective measurements of commercially important characteristics. The characteristics include yield, condition (moisture content), fibre diameter, colour, length, strength and bulk.

New Zealand is the largest producer and exporter of crossbred wool and is second only to Australia in the production and export of all wool.