National Wool Museum

The National Wool Museum is housed in a beautifully restored 1872 bluestone wool store and is set amongst the contemporary striking design of Waterfront Geelong.  

The Museum is Australia's only comprehensive museum of wool, showcasing the Australian wool story - from the sheep’s back to the clothes rack, and from the birth of the industry in the 1840’s to its place in the world today. The Museum has permanent and temporary galleries. On exhibition until March 9 2008 is The Great Ocean Road: from bush track to national icon.

This multimedia exhibition celebrates the engineering feat of the Great Ocean Road and the achievements of the returned soldiers who worked on its construction. It highlights the spectacular natural beauty of the area as it traces the history of the road from the early 20th Century to the present day.

The Museum has two permanent galleries. The first, “The Wool Harvest”, looks at sheep farming and wool production. Exploring the pastoral aspect of wool in Australia, visitors can follow the path of the fleece through shearing, classing, wool pressing and dispatch. A recreated shearing shed and a film about shearing demonstrate what life in the shearing industry was like.

Gallery Two, “From Fleece to Fabric”, looks at the processing of wool into fabric and offers an insight into the people and processes involved in the textile industry. A sequential display of the machinery actually used in the process demonstrates the transformation of fleece to fabric. The 1910 Axminster Jacquard carpet loom is still operated by skilled carpet weavers and produces the Museum’s own “Manor House Rug”.

The Museum Shop stocks a wide range of woollen products and unique local crafts while the Black Sheep Café offers great food, wines, coffee and cakes.