Wool Industry Urged To Keep Up Research

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29145, 4 March 1960, Page 10

Wool Industry Urged To Keep Up Research

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, March 3.

AU that New Zealand valued in its standard of living would go down unless the leaders of the community recognised the part that science played in maintaining the competitive strength of wool. Dr. J. Melville, Director of the Waite Agricultural Research Institute, South Australia, told the Wool Board today. He is the Australian universities’ representative on the Statutory Wool Research Committee.

“The wool industry will fail, like any other, unless we keep up the level of research,” he said. “The synthetic boys are not standing still. We do not know how soon they will come up with some product that may have properties better than wool. We must match our efforts with theirs.”

The wool industry was in a net, said Dr Melville. If the tempo of New Zealand was such that the community would not support wool research, how was the wool section of the community going to escape the net? Holding Research Workers

Any advisory body on sheep and wool research in New Zealand must study the competitive power of this country to attract and hold valuable research workers, said Dr. Melville. He had been most impressed on his visit by the way certain of the research institutions were doing that. They were retaining men whom he would like to have in Australia, and who in 10 years or less would be making their reputations in the international field. New Zealand had a great advantage in that it was a very pleasant place in which to live. Unfortunately, that was not a good drawcard under present conditions of employment to attract scientists from the United Kingdom or Australia, but it was an important factor in bringing back New Zealanders who went abroad for advanced study.

What was needed was a longterm plan to assist post-graduate workers in certain broad fields and to persuade them to return. The plant chemistry laboratory in Palmerston North was succeeding in that, he said. “It's all a matter of leadership.” he said. “I don’t believe there is a more efficient unit studying the relationship between the plant and the animal anywhere in the world. They have good men, and are recruiting good youngsters.” Study of Wool Uses

The place for studj into the characteristics and end uses of New Zealand crossbred wools was in New Zealand, and not overseas, said Dr. Melville. The future lay with work in that direction. There was. overseas, no organisation dealing with the uses for the type of wool New Zealand produced. Farmers might be more enthusiastic about the expenditure of money on sheep research and the production end of the wool indus-

try, but a proportion of funds should go into the study of the use of wool.

In Australia, the proportion was about 40 per cent. The three textile laboratories, to which the growers made a large contribution, were doing the most important wool textile research in the world. In the 10 to 12 years since their establishment, they had had a spectacular record of success, in spite of all the usual difficulties of buildings and staffing for a new enterprise.

“They have turned out and will continue to turn out work of great importance, helping to ensure that wool will retain and improve its position as a major textile fibre in the service of man,” said Dr. Melville. Dr. Melville is a New Zealander. He obtained his doctorate of science at London University, returned to the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, and on the retirement of Sir Bruce Levy was appointed director of the combined Grasslands Division and Plant Chemistry Division at Palmerston North. He went to Australia in 1954. He has been in New Zealand for the last three weeks.