CHAPTER 3

The History of Cotton

WORLD COTTON
HISTORY
A BRIEF
SUMMARY Archaeologists found cotton fabric 5,000 years old
at Mohenjo Daro, an ancient town in the Indus River
Valley of West Pakistan, and similarly aged
Over the next 2,000 years, cotton, wool and silk
became the preferred fibres for fine fabrics across
the developed world. In less developed and warmer
become the USA, provided much of the raw cotton.
With lower production costs, cotton became more
affordable and its popularity soared. During this
examples have been found in Egypt and Mexico. countries where cotton farming, home spinning and period, specialty cotton including Egyptian, Sea
COTTON HAS A VERY LONG AND village industry were interlocked cotton was
Although the cotton plant is thought to have initially Island (Caribbean and South East USA) and Tanguis
INTERESTING HISTORY IN THE grown wild in East Africa, it was first cultivated in the dominant, and still is, 2,000 years later. (Peru) became highly prized for use in very soft and
WORLD AND IS ONE OF THE country now known as Pakistan where its early uses In more developed countries the surge in cotton fine fabrics.
OLDEST KNOWN FIBRES. were as a textile for clothing, bindings for sandals consumption was triggered by the Industrial However, the American Civil War changed things;
THE WORD COTTON COMES and harnesses for elephants. The Greek historian, Revolution of the late 18th Century. Spinning mills European nations were forced to look for other
FROM AN ARABIC WORD Herodotus (484 425 BC) wrote about a tree in Asia sprang up in places like Manchester which led to sources of supply and the British looked to their
that bore cotton exceeding in goodness and beauty ports like Liverpool becoming major cotton shipping
QUTUN OR KUTUN USED TO the wool of any sheep. Cotton was widely used in centres. With access to slave labour and new Upland
then colonies, including Australia.
DESCRIBE ANY FINE TEXTILE the ancient civilisations of Mesopotamia, Egypt and types of cotton, the American colonies, soon to
AND SOME OF THE EARLIEST the Indian sub continent. Early Mediterranean
FABRIC RELICS FOUND IN traders, the Ionians and Phoenicians introduced
EXCAVATIONS OF ANCIENT cotton materials to Europe.
Fact Sheet: World Cotton History
CIVILISATIONS WERE COTTON.

A contrast
in spinning
technology

Arkworks
Spinning
Frame,
invented in And the modern day version
about 1767 Australian Cotton being spun
enabling cheap in Dongying Hongyuan
production of Textile mill (China)
cotton cloth photo by John Hamparsum
AUSTRALIAN
COTTON HISTORY
A BRIEF SUMMARY
By Cotton Industry Legend, Ralph Schulz
Cotton has a relatively long
history in Australia native
varieties have grown here for
many thousands of years.
However, although cotton was
introduced to Australia with the
First Fleet, it did not establish
itself even as a minor
commercial crop until the
1850s. Then the American Civil
War started.
Gins were built, and relatively
large areas of cotton were
grown around centres such
as Beaudesert, Caboolture,
Ipswich and Central
Queensland.
But when international trade
returned to normal, Australian
cotton production declined,
falling to a total of 15 acres in
1886. In the early 1900s it
reappeared and production
gradually rose to 50,000 acres in
1924, and after a temporary
decline, to 60,000 acres in 1936.
In this pre-war period there were
cotton gins at Rockhampton,
Wowan, Gladstone, Gayndah,
Dalby and Brisbane.
Following World War II
production again fell to around
2,500 acres. But with the
availability of better mechanical
cotton pickers, and an
increased Commonwealth
bounty, production again rose
Fact Sheet: Australian Cotton History
to reach 20,000 acres in 1960.
Up until this period, cotton was
regarded as a low input dryland
crop or as a pioneering crop for
recently cleared land. Irrigation
was rare, yields marginal, and
fibre quality poor and variable
then things changed!
The modern era of Australian
cotton began.
Despite some opinion to the
contrary, the modern era did not
have a singular origin. Cotton
farmers in various areas of
Southern and Central
Queensland concurrently began
addressing cotton as a higher
input, better managed, irrigated
crop. At the same time what is
now the Australian Cotton
Research Institute was
established near Narrabri
following the completion of
Keepit Dam.
Research quickly focused on
cotton as an exciting possibility.
In these critical first three years,
and before his transfer to wheat
research, a Hungarian plant
breeder, Nick Derera, provided
the foresight to develop those
possibilities. In this pioneering
effort he was assisted by the
farm manager Tom Lawler, and
a young agronomist, Ralph
Schulz. News of these
promising early results was
THE EARLY YEARS OF
COTTON PRODUCTION
IN AUSTRALIA
picked up by the media as far
away as California. Two cotton
farmers from near Merced,
California, Paul Kahl and Frank
Hadley, were so impressed that
in early 1961 they came to
Australia to see for themselves!
They were soon to be followed
by others and as a result a
cohort of American cotton
families emigrated to the Wee
Waa district and other areas. It
was the unique blend of
American know how and
practical Australian innovation
that made these early efforts
so successful.
Meanwhile, in Queensland,
progressive farmers in the
Lockyer, Callide-Dawson and
Condamine valleys were
successfully developing
irrigation and sound crop
management. New irrigation
areas at St. George and
Emerald were also providing
opportunities for successful
cotton trials and expansion.
TIMELINE
HISTORY OF COTTON GROWING IN AUSTRALIA
1934 1966
Cotton
production Cotton 1971 1973
1857 reaches 1960 established in Raw Cotton
Cotton
Small Limited the Macquarie Bounty
17,000 bales production on
quantities of 1863 irrigated Valley removed at
the Ord River
dryland cotton 67 South 1870s cotton following the request
Scheme
grown in Pacific Islander Australian 1906 production completion of the cotton
ceases,
1788 Queensland labourers cotton Coloured commences of the industry.
mainly due
The First brought to production labour 1954 in south-west Burrendong Cotton
to insect
Fleet brings QLD to staff peaks then prohibted Cotton Dam. Cotton production
Queensland resistance to
the fledging falls as industry production reaches

>
cottonseed pesticides
to Australia cotton industry world prices almost also begins 87,000 bales
in Townsvale decline non-existent at Bourke

1788
1830 1863-1904 1908 1926
First shipment An estimated Almost The Queensland 1968
of cotton 62,500 south Emerald
1861-65
90% of Cotton Marketing
1961 1972
exported to sea Islanders south sea Board is established. 1958 Irrigation Area
Australian Cotton
England, American Civil were brought to Islanders Government subsidy Keepit Dam is Commercial produces first
Foundation (now
consisting of War causes Australia to deported introduced to promote completed on crop planted exportable
Cotton Australia)
three bags American cotton develop the production in central the Namoi at Wee Waa, surplus
and the Australian
production to cotton and Queensland River in NSW, using water
Cotton Growers
fall. Australia sugar industries providing from Keepit
Research
attempts to irrigation water Dam
Association
fill the gap to the Namoi established
Valley

FIRST SHIPMENT
OF COTTON EXPORTED
TO ENGLAND, WAS IN
1830, CONSISTING
OF THREE BAGS
2012 Cotton Awards 40 Years of Cotton Australia Australian Cotton History
An interactive timeline chronicling the history of Australias cotton
industry and some of its leading organisations including Cotton Australia
TIMELINE
HISTORY OF COTTON GROWING IN AUSTRALIA

1996 2008/09
1976 The first transgenic A new path is
Cotton 1990 cotton variety 2005/06 set for Cotton
2010/11
established in (Ingard) introduced 95% of Australia as it
Cotton industry 2002 Record crop
the Gwydir to Australia Australias merges with a 2011/12
self-funds First Roundup of 4.1 million
Valley at Moree cotton key research
using water
Environmental Ready 2002-04 growers plant partner, the bales, industry Record crop
Audit, leading Worst drought of 5.3 million bales
from the newly 1980 to introduction 1997 cotton
in 100 years
transgenic Australian in resurgence
from 566,000
constructed Cotton introduced varieties, Cotton Growers after almost
of Best Cotton results in hectares planted
Copeton Dam production to Australia accounting Research a decade
Management production 60 per cent
reaches of drought

<
reaches for 80 per Association
435,000 Practices (BMP) reduction in
2.7 million cent of total (ACGRA).
bales crop size
bales cotton crop

2013
2003
1975 1977 1985 Cotton industry 2007/08
Cotton 1995 undertakes Australian
Cotton The Drought causes 2001 cotton industry 2009/10
production construction production
harvest to fall to Crop reaches Second 2005 severely myBMP
2012
reaches of the Pindari reaches Environmental Australian 3rd Environmental
1.5 million bales record high of impacted by re-launched
110,000 and Glenlyon 1.1 million Audit crop sets Assessment of
3.4 million bales drought, as an electronic,
bales Dams allows bales new world the Australian
leading to internet-based
cotton to be
2001 2003 record yield,
smallest crop program
cotton industry
grown in the 1992 World cotton
Transgenic leading to a
in 30 years
finds significant
Macintyre World record Bollgard II 2.9 million improvements in
Valley in price reaches variety bale crop natural resource
yields in Australia
Southern lowest level in introduced management
lead to record
Queensland nearly 30 years to Australia, since 2003
2.2 million
bale crop replacing Ingard

A RECORD CROP IN 2011/12

OF 5.3 MILLION BALES,
ESTABLISHES INDUSTRY
RECOVERY AFTER ALMOST
A DECADE OF DROUGHT CONTACT COTTON AUSTRALIA FOR A COPY OF THE DOCUMENTARY A LIFE IN COTTON