 Cashmere was effectively rediscovered on Australian goats in 1972 when two Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) researchers, Dr. Ian Smith and Mr. Wal Clarke, identified cashmere on some feral goats under inspection at the property of the Australian Mohair Company at Brewarrina.For a number of years, the CSIRO maintained a small research herd of selected animals at their Prospect laboratory until budget restraints forced their dispersal.Some important early histological work was carried out during this period.