Andrew Nikolic (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I acknowledge my constituents, Jill and Julian from Launceston, in the gallery today, and I know that they would join me in congratulating Launceston's first textile Mill, Waverley Woollen Mills, on being chosen to provide a gift from the people of Australia to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the birth of their new baby.

The Prime Minister announced the gift on Monday 4 May, saying that the cot blanket, made from Tasmanian merino wool, would be embroidered with the Australian floral emblem, the wattle, by members of the ACT Embroiderers' Guild. What a wonderful gift for the new Princess and what wonderful recognition for one of Launceston's longest operating businesses. I am pleased to say that during one of his many visits to Launceston, I took the Prime Minister, and some of his senior staff, to Waverley's factory outlet shop to see firsthand the quality of Waverley Woollen Mill's products. They were greatly impressed. Waverley Woollen Mills has made blankets in Launceston, on the same site, since 1874, when the founder, Peter Bulman, won a £1,000 Tasmanian government prize for producing the first woollen products from local wool. Over its 141 year history, Waverley blankets have become nationally recognised for their quality and durability. Indeed, one of the presents my wife and I got when we were married 29 years ago was a pair of Waverley Woollen Mill blankets, and we are still using them at home. I am sure that this connection between Launceston and the new Royal Princess is something all Tasmanians can be very proud of.

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