Disaster inspires a new future for Kangaroo Island’s wool growers

Emotions run high as Christine Berry steps inside Kangaroo Island’s new wool mill; the pride on her face is unmistakable.

For the first time, fashion and farming have come together on the island.

“We’ve farmed for over 40 years and we love our farm and our sheep, but really when we harvest our wool it just goes away [from the island],” she said.

While most of Australia’s wool is sent offshore for processing, a group of more than 20 growers on the South Australian island decided to do it all in their own backyard. 

Together, they founded Kangaroo Island Wool.

One of the founders, Greg Johnsson, said it was a unique project.

“I think we’re the only factory in the country that has the ability to do all of the steps involved in taking wool from the paddock right through to the finished garment,” he said.

From an unlikely dream to a small mill

Doing it all wasn’t part of the plan when the group of locals launched the company in 2011. 

Mr Johnsson and his wife Deb, both vets with deep roots in the island’s agriculture industry, never imagined how much they would all accomplish over the next decade.

At the time, their focus was on marketing wool to international buyers.

Ms Berry said the notion of running a mill seemed like wishful thinking.

“We talked about, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if we could make our own garments on Kangaroo Island,'” she said.

But in an unlikely twist of fate, it was a natural disaster that helped turn that dream into a reality.

After the devastating Black Summer bushfires tore across almost half of Kangaroo Island five years ago, the wool company applied for state and federal local economic recovery grants. 

Their successful bid helped build a $1.8 million small-scale wool mill, with shareholders paying the rest.

“It was a terrible time and it’s not something we want to dwell on,” wool grower Hannah Robins said.

“But I think there’s lots of really good things that have come out of the fire as well.”

Beauty born after hardship

Ms Robins and her father John Symons, who are local sheep producers on the island, experienced the devastation firsthand. 

They are both owners in the group and supply wool to the company.

Mr Symons’s house was destroyed and the family lost many of its most valuable livestock.

“We lost about 2,500 sheep … we lost all of the weaners [young sheep] of that year, so the next generation coming up got burned,” Mr Symons said.

After losing two-thirds of their elite breeding sheep, it took four years to rebuild the business.

And while most of their wool is still sent overseas for processing, a small portion makes a much shorter trip to the new local mill, which Ms Robins said was something of an eye-opener for farmers. 

“I’ve only just recently been through to see every process, and I wasn’t aware [that] so much goes into making a garment,” she said.

An expensive pursuit

The mini-mill was set up to target tourists who traditionally flock to the island for its wildlife and dramatic coastline. 

“Tourists love coming here and this is a chance to actually show that agriculture is one of the biggest industries on the island,” Ms Robins said.

Mr Symons added that it helped tourists understand the value of their wares. 

Mr Symons is all too aware of the time and expense that sheep farming demands, yet even he has gained a new appreciation for what it takes to transform his wool into a finished product.

“It’s darned expensive for us out here to put a kilo of wool on the table, but that’s only the start of it,” he said.

Processing costs are the main reason most of Australia’s wool is sent overseas for cleaning, spinning and manufacturing.

The scarcity of a domestic industry in Australia meant the company struggled to find both the right machines for its factory, and the people to run them.

“There’s very little knowledge left in the population,” Mr Johnsson said.

Creating something beautiful after hardship

The company processes superfine merino wool which German-born milliner Sabine Pedder said was tricky to turn into garments and hats.

“In the beginning it was so challenging … felting this beautiful fibre is just heartbreaking,” she laughed.

She spent two decades making hats for Australia’s racing carnivals before moving to Kangaroo Island to “get out of the rat race” and unexpectedly found a new passion at Kangaroo Island Wool.

“It’s such a beautiful idea, bringing the fibre in, washing it and dealing with it and [then] returning the jumper back to the [sheep] farmers,” she said.

For Mr Johnsson, it wasn’t only about sentiment; going against the grain and keeping the entire supply chain on the island also made commercial sense.

“Every time the wool changes hands …  there’s a margin in that,” he said.

“If we can take garments right from the raw stage through to the finished garment stage, we get the chance to capture all of those margins.

“I’m pretty confident we’ll be profitable fairly shortly.”

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