Collection S11 - Silk and Textile Printers Pty. Ltd.

Silk and Textiles Pty. Ltd. was formed in Sydney in 1939 by the Alcorso family. In 1945 they were looking for new premises, and Premier Robert Cosgrove persuaded them with cheap electricity to come to Hobart in 1947. The factory spun, wove and printed raw silk, and used cotton for furnishings and sheets – Silk and Textiles was the first in Australia to make coloured sheets. At its peak the factory employed 1400 people. It provided housing for immigrant workers, and involved the labour force in running the factory, with worker representation in the boardroom, a profit-sharing system and the first 40-hour week in Tasmania. Relations with workers were excellent.
For more information see : http://www.utas.edu.au/library/companion_to_tasmanian_history/S/Silk%20Textiles.htm

Claudio Alcorso (1913–2000), industrialist and winemaker, was born in Rome. In 1938 he emigrated to Sydney and established Silk and Textile Fabrics. Despite enlisting in the RAAF, he was interned as an 'enemy alien' during the Second World War. He successfully transferred his factory to Derwent Park in 1947. Alcorso was a pioneer of the Tasmanian winemaking industry, planting 90 riesling vines at his property Moorilla in the 1950s. He championed the arts through his involvement with Australian Ballet, Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust, Tasmanian Arts Advisory Council and as chairman of Opera Australia. He was also a crusader for the environment who took an active stance in 1982 in the Franklin River protest. The Claudio Alcorso Foundation has established an annual Australia–Italy exchange fellowship in his honour. From http://www.utas.edu.au/library/companion_to_tasmanian_history/A/Claudio%20Alcorso.htm