Wool bale

Loose fibres from these packs caused contamination of the wool in the bale and led to nylon becoming the regulation fabric used in Australia.

[1] In South Africa woven paper was tested but discontinued in 1973 due to poor wet strength and high cost.

Nowadays power operated, self-pinning wool presses with inbuilt scales have made a major contribution to shearing shed productivity.

[2] Wool bales have been transported by camel, horse teams, bullock wagons, paddle steamer, boats and later by rail and trucks.

Overlong bales may create problems with over wide loads when trucking, in brokers' stores and in the jamming of dumping equipment.

These sheets are bulky yet are light (weighing about 60 kg or 132 lb) and convenient for the small farmer to transport to his local wool collection centre.

Shepherds brought their fleeces to a local collection point, for example Chipping Camden for wool from the Cotswolds, where it would be graded, paid for, consolidated into bales, sold to wholesalers, and shipped to the manufacturer.

This seat is therefore not in reality a "sack", in which the shepherds probably brought 20 or so fleeces, probably two per mule, being the equivalent of today's "sheet", but is rather a bale, compacted by the weight of human feet at the merchant's premises.

[2] After transportation by rail or road to the woolbroker's store, each wool bale's brand is carefully inspected to see that it corresponds with the classer's report.

It is then weighed by sworn weighers (this weight is marked on the bale and recorded and is the basis on which buyers are invoiced), and then core sampled.

An index is maintained showing the location of all bales so that, when their turn of offering-which is based on the equitable method of order of receipt into store approaches, they may be easily found.

[2] The sale's programme in all centres is arranged, in the first place, by the National Council of Wool Selling Brokers after consultation with the buyers' organisations.

[2] A valuation of every lot, based on current market rates, is also made by the brokers' staff, this being used by the growers as a guideline for the subsequent auction.