Wool bale

A wool bale is a standard sized and weighted pack of classed wool compressed by the mechanical means of a wool press. This is the regulation required method of packaging for wool, to keep it uncontaminated and readily identifiable. A "bale of wool" is also the standard trading unit for wool on the wholesale national and international markets.

Packaging of wool has not changed much for centuries except that the early wool packs were made from jute, prior to the use of synthetic fibres. Jute packs were relatively heavy, weighing several kilograms each. In the 1960s polypropylene and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) packs were manufactured and used to make wool bales. Loose fibres from these packs caused contamination of the wool in the bale and led to nylon becoming the regulation fabric used in Australia, In South Africa woven paper was tested but discontinued in 1973 due to poor wet strength and high cost. Regulation standard white nylon packs now have a 280 mm (11 in) label sewn onto the top flap of the wool pack for inclusion of the farm brand, wool description, bale number, woolclasser stencil number and bin code. Each bale of wool packs contains 50 packs that measure 70 cm × 70 cm (27.6 in × 27.6 in) x 98 cm (38.6 in) and have 46 cm (18.1 in) flaps.

Very early wool presses were made from wood boards and had a wire winch mechanism to compress the wool and also hollow logs where the wool was tramped into a pack. During the late 19th century various forms of wooden wool press became the standard. Most popular models were the Koerstz and the Ferrier. The Koerstz was a smaller press than the Ferrier. The Ferrier press was manufactured under license by Humble & Nicholson (later Humble & Sons), Geelong, Victoria, and they had sold 2,000 presses between about 1871 and 1918. These presses were distributed throughout Australia, but were also sent overseas to New Zealand, South America, and North Africa. The steel Ajax wool presses were also used. Woolpressing with a manual woolpress was hard, tiring work that required tramping the wool into a box and then pressing it further with a manually operated lever activated cable. Nowadays power operated, self-pinning wool presses with inbuilt scales have made a major contribution to shearing shed productivity.

Wool bales have been transported by camel, horse teams, bullock wagons, paddle steamer, boats and later by rail and trucks.

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