No other Australian City can boast Geelong’s diversity and concentration of wool related industries and activities. In fact, sheep were among the first European settlers to land at Geelong’s Point Henry – with the sheep thrown overboard to swim ashore, as the barque Henry arrived from Tasmania in 1832.
Charles John Dennys was born in London, England in 1818. Migrating to Melbourne in 1842, he was on the Geelong electoral roll by June 1843. Partnering with his wife Martha Elizabeth Lascelles, family he bought the Barwon Melting Establishment in 1847 and the Barwon Tannery in 1850. He attended the London wool sales in 1853 and held his first wool sale at the Western Wool Warehouse on 10 November 1857. The Dennys Lascelles Company purchased the site of the old coal yard on the corner of Moorabool Street and Brougham Place in December 1870, assuring the future of Geelong’s Wool trade.
The Denny Lascelles Wool store a bluestone structure with cement rendered ornamentation and a slate covered saw tooth roof was purpose built and opened in 1872. The building was considered a masterpiece of the time, a forerunner in design for wool stores around the world. The two letter additions added in 1889 and 1926 make it the building it is today.
The National Wool Museum experience is more than just wool. It is a cultural hub in Victoria second largest city. A vibrant gathering place between the historic waterfront and central Geelong. The museum is a place to collect, share and create stories of our community and region. Here history, science, fashion, handcraft and art come together. Temporary exhibitions and programs combine lifelong learning, hands-on exploration and entertainment for people of all ages.
