Corporate Body

CSIRO Division of Textile Industry (1958 - 1988)

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

From
1958
Belmont, Victoria, Australia
To
1988
Functions
Industrial or scientific research and Materials or Textiles Industries
Reference No
CA 4528
Legal Status
Agency of the Commonwealth of Australia
Location
Belmont, Victoria

Summary

The CSIRO Division of Textile Industry was established in 1958, when the three laboratories of the CSIRO Wool Textile Research Laboratories became separate Divisions. In 1978 it was made part of the CSIRO Institute of Industrial Technology.The work undertaken by the Division concentrated on the improvement of wool and wool products. In 1988 it became the CSIRO Division of Wool Technology.

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Details

From "CSIRO research for Australia" (1962) pdf pages 42, 44:
"During the first decade of their existence the Wool Textile Research Laboratories, supported by the wool industry, grew steadily in size and stature. In 1958 they were accorded the status of Divisions, and were known respectively as the Division of Protein Chemistry, the Division of Textile Physics, and the Division of Textile Tndustry."

"The aims of the Division of Textile Industry are twofold. Firstly, much of the work is devoted to the improvement of wool and wool products, and secondly, the Division is trying to improve the textile manufacturing operations in woollen mills. In the other two Divisions basic work sometimes leads to results of industrial use. At Geelong the reverse is true-the study of applled problems sometimes paves the way for research of a more fundamental nature.

The applied work has been spectacularly successful. An economic method of mothproofing wool, using the commercial insecticide "Dieldrin", has been developed and is now used in many countries. Chemical treatments for wool have been devised which can make fabrics shrinkproof, resistant to "balling" or "pilling" and which confer "wash-no-iron" properties. Perhaps the best known of such processes is the "Si-Ro-Set" process for permanent pleating or creasing, which is now used by many clothing manufacturers in Australia and overseas.

A number of notable improvements in textile processing have also been achieved. The introduction of a sheep branding fluid which is removed from the wool in normal processing has overcome a major problem due to "tar" in the
Australian clip. A new process has been developed for solvent degreasing of wool (replacing soap-soda washing) and is now operating on an industrial scale. A control instrument which has been invented for the Noble comb is now widely used by the wool combing industry. industrial operations such as "carding". spinning, dyeing and sizing are also studied with a view to improving conventional procedures."

Timeline

 1949 - 1958 CSIRO Wool Textile Research Laboratories
       1958 - 1988 CSIRO Division of Textile Industry
             1988 - 1999 CSIRO Division of Wool Technology
                   1999 - CSIRO Division of Textile and Fibre Technology

Published resources

Books

Resources

Resource Sections

See also

Ailie Smith

Created: 22 June 2000, Last modified: 10 April 2025

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