Cuttings, Combings, Fettlings and Flock: Gender and Australian Wool ‘Waste’, 1900–1950

Key Points

• The central aim is to examine the relationship between wool waste management and gender roles in Australia from 1900 to 1950.
• Analyzed historical documents related to wool processing and waste management practices.
• Investigated gender-specific roles in the handling of wool waste materials.
• Explored societal implications of wool waste categorization as pure or polluted.
• Identified specific aspects of wool waste handling as gendered activities.
• Highlighted particular processes deemed more suitable for men due to their noxious nature.
• Showed that some wool waste products were associated with purity while others were linked to pollution.

Abstract