Historic wool auction rooms close  Broadcast: 04/07/2003
Reporter: Gavin Fang  TOM BADDELEY: Gavin Fang there. Finally -
A 40-year connection to primary industry in WA is over. For
decades, the success of the Australian economy was linked to the
price of wool, and wool was bought and sold at auction on
trading floors in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle. Gavin Fang
reports on the end of an era.  RAY BRENT, WOOL BUYER: I believe
Australia did ride on the sheep's back for a long period of
time. With the wool being as it was, the inflow of money into
Australia from overseas from just the exports created this
buoyant rural industry.  GAVIN FANG: When Ray Brent first joined
the broking floor at Fremantle's wool exchange as a 23-year-old,
Sir Robert Menzies was Australian prime minister and the man on
the land was enjoying buoyant commodity prices. It was 1962 and
it was a good time to be working in a primary industry.  RAY
BRENT: Wool buyers at that stage, I suppose, were treated almost
like kings, coming off a per