Breaking the Sheep's Back

by Massy, Charles

• ISBN13: 9780702238857
• ISBN10: 0702238856
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-10-01
• Publisher: University of Queensland Press

Summary

Breaking the Sheep's Back is the untold story of the events that led to Australia's biggest industry disaster.Once a great nation-building icon, the wool business today is but a third of its size when Australia 'rode on the sheep's back'. Compared to the more recent Australian Wheat Board scandal, 40 times more funds were lost in the downfall, and vastly more collateral social and economic damage was done in this country and across the globe.This story is a tragedy that reached into the offices of prime ministers and Cabinet members across seven federal governments and its agencies. Despite this politically sanctioned collapse, there has never been a royal commission. Until now, no one has investigated what precipitated the great crash of February 1991 or the industry ongoing decline.It has taken author Charles Massy ten years to research and write this book. In the process he spoke to most of the major players and gained access to the key documents and correspondence. He has gone inside cabinet and political offices, the Wool Corporation, the boardrooms of international wool buyers, wool processors and designers, and the living rooms of farmers across the country.Breaking the Sheep's Back is Massy's private royal commission a must-read account of the decline and fall of the Australian wool empire.

Author Biography

Charles Massy is the founder of the leading merino stud Severn Park and is recognized as an innovator in marketing and merino genetics. He is the author of The Australian Merino and of several articles on the wool industry, merino and wool history, and the environment. He has also held positions on the boards of the Australian Wool Research and Promotion Organization and the International Wool Secretariat.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. vii
Acronyms and Glossary	p. xi
Introduction	p. xxi
The Rise of Statutory Intervention-1840 to 1987	p. 1
'An inexorable current': The political antecedents of disaster-1840 to 1951	p. 3
Of patriots, government princes and wool emperors	p. 10
The binary choice-1950s to 1958	p. 17
'If the play gets rough, I can mix it': Bill Gunn, wool warrior-1958 to 1965	p. 27
'Marketing mesmerism'-1966 to 1969	p. 40
'All your danger is in discord!'-McEwenism to late 1960s	p. 51
'The spontaneous uprising of the unwashed peasantry'-the great wool coup of 1970	p. 58
'Without ever admitting to having done so': The Wool Commission-up to December 1972	p. 73
'Requiring the wisdom of Solomon': The Wool Corporation-1973 to 1975	p. 84
'No retreat' in a fool's paradise-1976 to 1981	p. 95
With the cylinders all loaded-1982 to 1987	p. 102
Setting the Floor-1986 to June 1988	p. 117
'A contagion': The wool boom-up to 1988	p. 119
The start of the great bull run-late 1987 to January 1988	p. 128
Hubris-early 1988	p. 135
'On a collision course with the AWC board'-February to May 1988	p. 144
The folie de grandeur: The Wool Corporation board-1988	p. 155
'The price that could floor the wool industry'-May to 24 June 1988	p. 162
Into the Rapids-July 1988 to April 1990	p. 177
'In so deep it must keep going'-July 1988 to December 1989	p. 179
'A nightmare in the making'-late 1989 to February 1990	p. 195
'No time for hard hats'-February to April 1990	p. 209
'Flying blind without radar': IWS shenanigans-from late 1989	p. 223
Into the Bunker	p. 233
'Encouraged into bad cul-de-sacs'-Autumn 1990	p. 235
'Let them eat mobile phones'-April to May 1990	p. 244
'More to do with egos than economics'-17 to 21 May 1990	p. 260
Last stand at Roma-21 to 27 May 1990	p. 267
The fatal cut-28 May to 6 June 1990	p. 282
Denouement	p. 291
'No better than incompetent gamblers'-June to September 1990	p. 293
'Nothing short of insanity'-September to November 1990	p. 305
The insurgency-October 1990 to January 1991	p. 318
The crash-mid January to 11 February 1991	p. 330
The Aftermath	p. 351
'Death by ten thousand cuts'-February 1991 to today	p. 353
Counting the costs	p. 367
Afterword	p. 395
Acknowledgements	p. 403
Notes	p. 407
Select Bibliography	p. 417
Index	p. 423
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