A Great Australian Story
Toorallie is an Australian brand specialising in high quality,
merino knitwear. The Toorallie name has long been associated with
the Smith family and the original "Toorallie" farm was founded in
1949 near a small town called Bombala within the famous Monaro
region of south-east NSW.
Toorallie knitwear was launched 1991 in response to the removal
of the wool floor price that cut the price of wool in half. To add
value to their wool clip the Smith family entered the knitwear
industry.
At the time '3 dimensional multi-colour' knitwear had just been
invented by an Australia design technician and rapidly became an
international trend. Combining new knitting techniques with merino
wool made Toorallie jumpers hugely popular and essentially a high
end souvenir item for international travellers.
As with all fashion and market trends, change is inevitable and
by 2000 the once unique multi-colour designs were no longer sought
after and the Japanese and US economies were on the downturn.
In 2005 the younger generation of the Smith family decided to
revitalise the Toorallie brand. By merging with Quality Softwools
Australia, the brand was able to re-establish itself in traditional
local markets and create new opportunities.
Today Toorallie knitwear supplies over 250 independent retailers
in Australia and New Zealand each winter season. Toorallie products
have always been synonymous with premium quality and are widely
regarded for both their great quality and innovative design.
Quality Softwools Australia Pty Ltd
Quality Softwools Australia (QSA) was formed in the depths of
the wool depression in 1992 by Dr Jim Watts, a scientist
specialising in skin biology of sheep and Charlie Massey, a stud
merino breeder. They believed that a successful business could be
built around keeping superior, or as they became known, SRS® (soft
rolling skin) wool types segregated through the wool processing
pipeline.
A chance meeting between Charlie Massey and Bryan Lodder, CEO of
Parkland Textiles UK led to a lucrative deal which saw QSA supply
Australian merino wool direct to Parkland. The superior quality of
the SRS® 17.5 micron ultra-fine merino wool led Parkland to
establish the boutique "Snowy River" label which was distributed
internationally by the prestigious Holland and Sherry of Saville
Row.
On the other hand the Australian market for yarn was not as
lucrative and the demise of the Australian manufacturing industry
led QSA to change direction from supplying finished yarn to
actually producing finished knitwear. The timing of this change
coincided with the owners of Toorallie needing a new business
partner; the two entities merged and now produce some of the most
outstanding quality knitwear in Australia.