RETIRED, A SECOND TIME

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32993, 12 August 1972, Page 18

RETIRED, A SECOND TIME

Mr

F. R. Callaghan.

a noted authority

on agricultural research, has retired for the second time.

In 1953, he retired as head of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, but it was not long before he was invited by the Woo! Board to work for it as scientific adviser. This, he accepted. It was an appointment which was to last 18 years. Re was also the board’s representative on the executive of the Wool Research Association. •When Mr Callaghan was bidden farewell at Lincoln, Mr L. P. Chapman, representing the Wool Board, said the existence of the Wool Research Organisation was largely due to Mr Callaghan's foresight and vision. “DIRECT LINK” Mr Callaghan is particularly pleased that the Wool Research Organisation now has a pilot plant — “If only we had had it years ago,” he said. He sees the plant as a direct link between grower and industry, and as a means of putting the good uses of crossbred wool to the world, and placing it at an advantage over other fibres. Replying to tributes to his work, Mr Callaghan emphasised that research must work in co-operation with industry, and he referred to the work of a scientist, Carruthers, who, in 1939, developed a synthetic fibre. This, he said, was what Du Pont, the industrialist firm, wanted, and by 1964 the output of synthetic fibres exceeded the total world production of wool. MANY GAINS

Mr Callaghan describes himself as a persuader, rather than a doer, but in the 18

years he has been associated with the board and the Wool Research Organisation he can look back on some marked advances. One of the main advances was the work on carpet wools; others included the development of a permanent tan for skins, which heralded the start of a new industry; and a new technique for sterilising blankets for hospital use.

“If we had not been able to prove that blankets could be sterilised, at a time when H-bug was proving a problem, the hospitals would have thrown woollen blankets out,” he said. Mr Callaghan saw great advantages in scouring the wool clip, and this has been reflected in statistics. From 12 per cent in 1954, it has risen to 40 per cent, and he attributes this to the liaison between research and the scouring industry. Tributes to Mr Callaghan were paid by the director of the Wool Research Organisation (Mr N. F. Roberts), the principal of Lincoln College (Sir Malcolm Burns), Dr I. K. Walker, representing the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, and Mr J. M. Hargreaves, secretary of the Wool Scourers’ Association.

Mr Callaghan is to retire in Christchurch.

The photograph shows Mr Callaghan with a carpet, presented to him by the staff of the Wool Research Organisation. It was made by a process involving the use of variegated fibres.