George Henry Michell, a boot-maker, and his wife, Catherine, emigrated from Cornwall to South Australia in 1866. In Adelaide, George Henry established a boot-making business, but after a year the family moved out of the city to Cudlee Creek. There, George Henry Michell took up farming and developed an interest in stripping wool and tanning leather.

The family moved again in 1870 to Undalya, a small town on the Wakefield River in South Australia’s mid-north. George Henry Michell started a business stripping wool, buying the sheepskins from farmers in the surrounding areas. Water was diverted from the river to a series of vats in which the wool was washed. Once it was processed, the wool was packed and sent to Adelaide from where it was shipped to London and auctioned.

Eventually George Henry Michell moved his business to Hindmarsh in Adelaide so that it could expand. His four sons joined the business and continued with its management after his death in 1918. In 1937 carding and combing equipment was installed at the Hindmarsh works.

In the early 1970s, the company moved to their current site on Main North Road, Salisbury South. In June 2004, brothers David and Peter Michell bought out 38 cousins and took over the reins of the business in a bid to keep the family name at the forefront of the international textile industry.

The business strategically expanded into China in 2006, building and operating a Carboniser and Loose Wool Superwash plant. This move allowed the business to stay ahead of competitors and remain globally relevant.

Now, trading as Michell Wool Pty Ltd, the company combines the best of the old traditions, with a modern and dynamic business model. The overall capacity of the two processing plants places the Michell Wool business as a global leader in early stage wool processing. Michell buys almost 15 per cent of Australia’s unprocessed wool, mostly directly from the woolgrowers themselves.

The company is still owned and operated by the Michell family.