A love for wool has inspired a group of women from Gore to launch a festival in the fibre’s honour
The 45°Fibre festival will be held May 4 and 5 at the Gore Town and Country Club.
Event organiser Amy Hughes, who is Creative Fibre Southland’s area delegate, said she dreamed up the event after attending a wool festival in Christchurch.
“I thought, ‘Why do we not have something like this in Southland? I’ve travelled all the way from Gore to Christchurch, I’m sure people will come down here,’” Hughes said.
She said she is horrified by what is happening in the wool industry and said as a “bit of a dreamer” she would like to open a mill and be able to pay farmers a decent wage.
She hopes the wool industry’s woes will turn at some stage.
Between 1990-91 and 2023-24 wool production fell 59%, which is slightly worse the 57% decline in the sheep flock but reflects lower production per head.
Data from Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s Economic Service shows wool prices peaked in 2015-16 but have since fallen. All-classes sheep and beef farm wool prices have eased 44%.
In the same period, shearing charges have increased 46% per kg of wool.
“The combined effect of this has been a 91% fall in per/kg wool receipts after deducting shearing expenditure,” the Economic Service said.
This fall has been most pronounced in crossbred, especially North Island crossbred wool, where prices have fallen 60%, but returns net of shearing costs reveal a drop of 128% less than revenue earned.
Hughes has help from two friends in her wool spinning group who also share her vision – Michelle Wood, who is designing posters for the event, and Sarah le Roux.
“I’m very passionate about wool and fibre. We need a creative outlet as it’s good for mental health. I also want to bring the community together. Wool is sustainable, we need to go back to it in this plastic world,” she said.
Creative Fibre and Creative Communities are co-sponsoring the event, which means the public can enter for free, she said.
Besides ready-made wool products, and fleece and skeins of wool being sold by over 40 traders, there will also be workshops for aspiring wool aficionados.
On Sunday May 5 the public can attend workshops on rag rugging, a class on dressing the loom for those who want to learn to weave, dyeing wool with pantry products, and a workshop on dividing different coloured fibre braids before spinning.
Ann Sutherland from Clifden Rural Women said the festival will increase “awareness of wool products and how it has been used in our culture and creatively”.
“At a time when the selling power of fleece is at rock bottom prices, we need to encourage people that wool is to be appreciated through various techniques and worn proudly,” Sutherland said.
