Wool scouring

64 Oakover Road Preston

In 1892 Mr Caulfield established his wool scouring factory at what would later become 74 Oakover Road Preston. 

Wool scouring is the cleaning of shorn wool of all contaminants prior to milling.  By 1893 J. Schofield was running the business and he was to remain there until around 1910 when T. Herley took over. The business proudly claimed it had the best wool scouring equipment, sourced from a company in Clifton Hill.

Around 1924 the current owner Charles Bendix saw the business close and it became the Dorrington & Railton Tannery. In the 1930s the site briefly became the Melbourne Bottle Company before becoming the United Woollen Mills in 1942.  

Sands and McDougall’s Melbourne and Suburban Directory 1864- 1974. [Microfiche]. (1974). Melbourne, Australia: Sands & McDougall