The cash is in addition to the hundreds of bales of wool donated by farmers to insulate the hospital in memory of Southland man and cancer sufferer Blair Vining, who died in 2019 but used his illness to raise awareness about the inequality of treatment.
He also successfully initiated a petition to the Government to create a national cancer agency.
The Bales4Blair appeal was spearheaded by South Otago farmer Amy Blaikie, with the goal of collecting bales to be turned into insulation for the Invercargill hospital; 181 farmers and businesses made donations through 21 wool stores.
The initiative attracted 421 bales in total, which included lines more suited to other uses.
This has now been processed by WoolWorks in Timaru and sold with the cash going to assist the charity hospital.
Insulation firm Terra Lana processed the scoured wool into 100% wool insulation batts free of charge for the hospital, but, along with Godfrey Hirst, it also purchased the excess wool.
The Southland Charity Hospital is expected to open by April 2022 and will provide free colonoscopies for people in Southland and Otago who cannot access them via the public system, as well as dental services.
