Chris' massive fleece went on display for the first time at the RSPCA's Weston shelter on Tuesday, and it will stay there before being transferred to a permanent display at the National Museum of Australia.

Since being relieved of his mammoth 41.1 kilogram fleece in September last year, the merino has piled on 30 kilograms – and only a couple of kilos of that can be chalked up to wool, RSPCA ACT chief executive Tammy Ven Dange said.

"That just shows how underweight he was," she said.

The very woolly sheep broke the record for the world's heaviest fleece after he was discovered roaming Mulligans Flat wearing about six years' worth of fleece.

He could barely walk when he was rescued by the RSPCA and underwent an emergency shearing by national champion Ian Elkins.

The fleece was donated to the museum's national historical collection, where it will rest among other icons of Australia's pastoral industry like Jack Howes' shears.

National Museum of Australia director Mathew Trinca said the fleece is an important icon for animal welfare in Australia.

"The story of Chris, the sheep saved on the outskirts of Canberra, is already a story that's been taken into the national memory. It's an important story because it says something about the great value of animal welfare in our country and the work of the RSPCA," he said.

"This fleece, the heaviest fleece ever known, also allows us to speak of the truth of the wool industry in this country. Chris illustrates how modern domestic sheep have been bred not to lose their wool and what happens when they are not shorn regularly."

Before the fleece could be displayed, it had to undergo a rigorous preservation process.

The National Museum's head of conservation Vicki Humphrey said it was the most unusual job she'd encountered.

"When the fleece came to us it was still wet so we decided to freeze it which took weeks, then we sent it down to Melbourne in a refrigerated truck," she said.

Freezing the fleece had the two-fold effect of both conserving it and killing off the bugs crawling through it.

Burs, dried grass and crusty dags are still embedded in the fleece because as Ms Humphrey said: "we wanted to preserve its character".

Even though Chris has settled well into his new home on a small farm somewhere in NSW, it hasn't been a smooth ride.

Chris's adopted family found the sheep had to relearn how to sit as his giant coat prevented him doing so for years.

Ms Van Denge said it is likely Chris' Guinness World Record will remain unbroken as the next sheep with that much wool may not live long enough to enjoy the notoriety.

But she still expects people to flock to see Chris' giant fleece, inspired by his strange story of survival.

"Canberra is known for a lot of things, but the display could possibly become another tourist attraction in itself given the national and international interest in his story," she said.