THE WEEK

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27404, 17 July 1954, Page 5

THE WEEK

THE WOOL CONFERENCE The Massey. College Wool Association conference at Timaru last week was billed as “an educational wool convention for the purpose of wool improvement and promotion,” but it is unlikely to have added much to the growers’ knowledge of ther product, or how to improve it, or promote it. About 200 of the 300 or so who attended the three-day gathering were growers, from practically all parts of the South Island. The rest were brokers, buyers, or wool technicians. It is difficult to organise a conference of the size without a few weak points coming to light, but a fundamental mistake was made by the organisers of this conference in grossly underating the knowledge the average South Island grower has, not only of wool production, but wool marketing and manufacturing as well. This error was no doubt the reason why most of the papers were given by technicians who dealt in a most elementary way with details which are already well known to every grower. A few of the papers were excellent, and that from Dr. L. F. Story of the Woollen Mills Research Association on early-shorn wool was outstanding. Only one practical farmer gave a paper, and two more demonstrated on sheep, but in the big attendance of growers there were dozens of men who could have contributed practical matter which would have furthered the aims of the conference. It is difficult to see why the mistake should have been made. The South Island began farming with Merinos a century ago, and South Island farmers have always been fully alive to the importance of wool and the need for improving it. If the Association is to make any significant contribution to wool improvement in the South Island, it will need to raise its sights a good deal higher than it did at Timaru.

MR PETER GAFFANEY A great many Canterbury farmers will regret the death recently of Mr Peter Gaffaney who for more than half a century was a freezing works buyer in different parts of the Province. He was a gifted judge of stock, and among buyers was known as a very hard man to buy against at a sale. He was born at Temuka, and at the age of 19 began buying for the Refrigerating Company at Timaru. The company was then known as the Christchurch Meat Company. He stayed with the company at Timaru and Fairlie for about 22 years, and in 1930 transferred to Borthwick’s and was sent to Fairlie.

He went to Rangiora in 1930 and remained as buyer there until his retirement two years ago. In earlier years he bought a great deal at sales, and was sent by his firm to southern centres to buy. A contemporary recalls that about 1925 he bought most of a yarding of 12,000 lambs at Lorneville. His firm sent him for two seasons to Australia, where in the New Zealand off season he bought lambs for the concern’s Victorian works. He never kept a tally of the stock he bought, but reckoned that in his working life he must have accounted for nearly 2,000,00(k lambs. He will be remembered by Canterbury farmers as a forthright purchaser who wasted little time in concluding a satisfactory deal, but he will be specially remembered for his unvarying willingness to help farmers wherever he could. There can never be a tally of the number of kindnesses he did in such ways as finding breeding ewes, or additional feed, for clients. He was a member of a famous sporting family, and in his earlier days was prominent ss a Rugby forward. In more recent years his interests were in racing and trotting. He was a life member of the Rangiora Trotting Club, and a steward of the North Canterbury Racing Club, and a member of the Metropolitan Trotting Club.