A brief history of the Australian Shoe Industry

Up until the end of the 19th century Australian boot makers continued to produce handmade footwear which by comparison to imported boots and shoes was very expensive (i.e. almost double). Australian made working boots would last on average one calendar month whereas the English boots were doomed by two to three weeks. Up until the 1830s most immigrants unable to pay Australian process ordered their footwear requirements for the year ahead from England. Cobbling (shoe mending) became an essential household maintenance in Australian homes. Higher wage claims (wages doubled between 1840 and 1860) saw a marked decline in the footwear industry in New South Wales with many of the work force leaving to join the gold rush. At this time British manufacturers tried to flood the Australian trade market but it was the Americans that prevailed. By 1858 new technologies had been introduced in the States which completely revolutionized the manufacture of mass produced boots and shoes. At first these were poor quality and scarcely lasted more than 12 days but eventually quality improved. American manufacturers over produced for their domestic market and became a major exporter during the late 19th and early 20th century. A spike came with the Gold Rushes (US 1848- 1855; and Aus 1850s -1890s). During this time the population of Australia quadrupled and the Australian market continued to be flooded with cheap US imports. Australian manufacturers found it difficult to compete until tariffs were introduced then they started producing their own footwear. The affect of American styles on colonial woman's fashion was profound and by 1894 the American shoes had replaced British footwear in the Australian Market.


John Lobb trained as a bootmaker in London before moving to Australia to try his luck in the goldfields. Whilst he never found fortune in gold he did strike on the idea of making hollow heeled boots for prospectors to hide their gold. The idea caught on and Lobb set himself up in business in Sydney in 1858. When the Great Exhibition came along in 1862 he sent a pair of his boots along and won a gold medal for their quality. Twelve months later he sent a pair of his riding boots to the Prince of Wales and was awarded a Royal Warrant. He returned to London and established a business " John Lobb, Bootmaker" which continues to trade as the world's most famous bespoke shoemaking establishment.

By 1870 bootmakers in Sydney were producing 15,000 pairs of boots each week. By 1890s the Melbourne manufacturers had converted to a modern system of mechanization and many Australian bootmakers began making children's shoes. (although Clarks of England had been exporting children’s shoes to Australia since 1842). A local concentration on practical footwear meant fashionable imports remained popular with consumers. Home grown fashion industries did try to become established but with little real success.

Making shoes is a complex business involving many subsidiaries and footwear operations sprung up in many metropolitan areas across Australia including: Ballarat, Geelong, Goulburn, Hobart, Perth and Adelaide. By the beginning of the 20th century good quality leather was abundant and many new Australian companies started making quality boots for farmers. The onset of World War, meant Australian boot makers went into war production mode, manufacturing footwear for the Australian military. Many of these companies have survived producing quality footwear for mountaineering and industrial needs. The First World War saw a massive demand for Australian footwear and by the 20s there were large Australian footwear companies with many hundreds of employees.
 
During the Depression these firms went to the wall and in the wake came smaller boutique companies who thrived due to demand of an increasing population and the Second World War. By the 60s the entire Australian economy was expanding, fuelled by large scale immigration and technical and scientific innovation, as well as the increasing availability of raw materials after protracted wartime shortages. As the 80s and 90s approached there was a marked decline in Australian produced footwear and more dependency on imports from Asia. Currently local manufacturers produce about 12% of the footwear purchased in Australia with much of the production now done off shore.

Barefoot Australians; How far back does that go?

Indigenous people seldom ever wore shoes to protect their feet. Most tribes were reported to go unshod but some from the Northern Territory of Australia and adjoining desert country did wear a primitive sandal to protect their feet from the scorching ground temperatures in summer. The sandals were made from tree bark had no uppers and were retained by thongs to the first and fifth toes. Not particularly robust, the crude sandals required to be replaced several times during the hot season. Ceremonial shoes were worn by aboriginal shaman and these included emu feather slippers tied together with a marsupial fur string. These were worn only during sacred ceremonies including ‘bone pointing’ rituals and revenge killing expeditions. The emu slippers left no footprints.

From the end of the eighteenth century convict shoemakers were very busy in the convict colonies and referred to in flash language, as ‘snobs.’ This may have been because captors and prisoners valued owning a sturdy pair of boots. The term may also relate to the fact many shoemakers had not committed any crime other than be an active unionist. In the UK the Shoemakers` Society was established in 1832 and a year later this amalgamated with joined with the National Union of Cordwainers. Trade unions then were viewed suspiciously by authorities and regarded as either secret societies or as groups seeking to overthrow the government. The charge of `treason`would frequently result in deportment to Australia. Many 19th century shoemakers became involved in the Chartist Movement. The quality of hides available to the early colonists was very poor and although hides were imported from England these were usually damaged by mildew making them almost unwearable. A barefoot tradition prevailed.

Convict shoemakers produced large quantities of boots and made the best of available materials but not every colony taught shoe making. Prior to the convict colony in WA shoe makers were rare and this is echoed in letters of 1830. A lady of Perth wrote "… many respectable females with their children are going barefoot, not a shoe maker can be got to work." Convicts were sent to WA in 1850, primarily to swell the population and provide labour and skills. Some prisoners were taught shoemaking and as a result by the end of the nineteenth century WA had more bespoke shoemakers per head of population than any other state or territory in Australia. On release many convict boot makers became saddlers and in the outback census, of 1828, there was one shoemaker to every 236 inhabitants. Distance alone meant many horsemen (bushman) became skilled leather workers including boot makers.

As the Australian population increased with Scottish and Irish immigrants fleeing the clearances and potato famine many had traditionally gone bare foot and continued to do so in their adopted country. Boot wearing new comers to the expanding colonies paraded up the main street on a Sunday wearing the fashionable finery of top boots made in patent leather only to be only to be lampooned by the locals fully aware of the inappropriateness of their footwear. The average life of a man’s fashionable boot from the Homeland was approximately three weeks whereas Australian made boots might last a month. Second and third generation Australians were more likely to have access to better footwear but by this time, barefootness was almost endemic.

Kiwi shoe polish and chunder

By the nineteenth century, leather shoes and boots became more affordable to the masses. To ensure the leather looked its best shoe polish became an essential accessory. The world’s best known shoe polish (Kiwi) was first made in Melbourne Australia in 1906. The polish was developed by William Ramsay (Scotsman) who named it Kiwi after the flightless bird endemic to New Zealand, the home country of his wife, Annie Elizabeth Meek Ramsay. Initially it was sold to local farmers but eventually caught on in the towns and cities. Shoe polish gave both a shoe shine as well as preserving shoe leather. Later in 1908 the product incorporated agents that added suppleness and water resistance to the leather. The market was fiercely competitive with many rival brands most used fictional figures or historical characters to advertise their products. Cobra Boot Polish was made in Sydney and advertised in The Sydney Bulletin (1909 -1920). The cartoon character used was "Chunder Loo of Akim Foo." (Chunder Loo was rhyming slang for and spew or sick). Drawn by Norman Lindsay (later by hs brother Lionel Lindsay) the adverts usually had a short poem which dealt with topical issues. As a result the adverts were very popular ensuring the Australianism, “chunder” became common use. Much later the term became forever associated with Barry Humphries’ Australian abroad, character, Barry McKenzie.

At the outbreak of World War I (1914) a gigantic demand for army boots followed and these needed to be polished easily, quickly, and efficiently. Sales in boot polish rocketed and very quickly Kiwi shoe polish became the Commonwealth troops’ favorite. A second sales peak arose with the Second World War and it was even noted by a US war correspondent at the siege of Tobruk (1941), trenches in were filled with old tins of Kiwi polish and empty bottles of Chianti. Even after hostilities the benefits of well polished boots swung advantage in the minds of Japanese women who during the Allied occupation of the country preferred boys with a shine on their boots. Despite their designer uniforms US rank and file were not dab hands with the shoe brush but once they realized there was a superior Australian boot polish, the commodity became a prize black market item. US soldiers returning from the war continued to use the product, leading to a further surge in its popularity. Kiwi shoe polish stayed Australian based for nearly 70 years.

New fashion wellies: Ride 'em cowboy.

Time was when I was a kid you could put on your wellies and believe you were a cowboy. New wellies from China are in the shape of cowboy and biker boots. The adult sizes come with pointed or rounded toe and some are fitted with chunky or wedge heels. Metal buckles near the quarter complete the effect. Apart from the usual midcalf or knee-high styles, some Chinese companies are launching pairs in ankle and over-the-knee lengths. The new boots are  in vivid colours and patterns with  motifs like stars, polka dots, flowers and checks very popular.  As an alternative to printing, textile overlays such as delicate lace cover the shaft. Ribbed fabric or synthetic fur attached to the collar gives extra warmth for the winter months. Shoelaces, zippers, buttons and drawstrings serve as functional adornments.  A few models boast concealed elevator insoles of equivalent height.  PVC and natural rubber are the main materials for the uppers and outsoles. Both are locally sourced, although imported variants of the latter are employed in upscale designs.

Heel less wonder shoes - everyone’s doing it: But for how long?

A recent study funded by the American Council on Fitness and Nutrition was conducted by researchers with the University of Wisconsin, who compared three ‘fitness shoe’ models with a standard running shoe and found no major difference in the shoes’ impact on exercise intensity or muscle activation. New Balance has recently released their TrueBalance in a bid to compete in the ‘fitness shoe’ brigade. A market which appears to attract significant attention from consumers keen to wear shoes capable of toning their buttocks and thighs with every stride. New Blanance boasts their shoes contain ‘balance-board technology’ with a series of “leaf springs” inside the shoe. There is some rounding in the sole but unlike it’s rivals not overly pronounced. The “hidden toning” features are meant to provide a better range of motion in all directions compared with the recognizable and awkward back-and-forth rocking of rival brands. Heel less wonder shoes are not suitable for everyone as manufacturers do point out, and people with foot pain or foot problems including osteo- arthrosis and weak ankles should avoid them. Only under the recommendation of a profession it appears can heel less shoes be used as a rehabilitation aid which helsp tone and strengthen muscles. The first test case against a manufacturer has already begun in the US. A lawsuit was filed in the Boston Federal Court recently claiming Reebok made false claims about the efficacy of its toning shoe (Easy Tone) in delivering more of a workout to leg and but muscles than a typical shoe. The lawsuit is asking the court to block Reebok from continuing its current EasyTone marketing campaign, to require the company to conduct a “corrective advertising campaign,” and to reimburse consumers who bought EasyTone shoes. Reebok have responded with a statement they will vigorously defend EasyTone shoes and the technology behind their footwear. If it is certified as a class action lawsuit, the suit claims it could net more than $5 million US for the plaintiffs because of widespread sales of EasyTone shoes. Watch this space.

How common are bunions?

Bunions appear to prevail and especially in those who dare wear high heeled fashion shoes, but how prevalent are they? A new meta study published in the recent Journal of Foot and Ankle reveals all. Bunions are of course a bursitis (inflamed sac) which appears over the bony prominence referred to as Hallux Valgus (lateral deviation of the great toe) caused by joint subluxation (partial dislocation). The first metatarsal phalangeal joint is a di-plane which has a range of motion in two planes that is it can move up and down and side to side. When the main pivotal joint of the foot rotates on its access it partially dislocates the joint causing a lateral drift of the great toes. The most obvious deformity is a protruding eminence corresponding to the first metatarsal head. The pathological process results in the forefoot breadth increasing often causing painful symptoms surrounding the bunion area or in more severe cases wear and tear (osteo-arthrosis) within the join itself. According to the researchers despite the frequent mention in a diverse body of literature, it still remains difficult to be a precise on the prevalence of HV within the population. From their meta analysis it appears HV is more likely to occur in women and with increasing age. Women were 2.5 times more likely to suffer from paritial dislocation of the great toe than men

Read more: Nix S, Smith M and Vicenzino B 2010 Prevalence of hallux valgus in the general population: a systematic review and meta-analysis Journal of Foot and Ankle Research 2010, 3:21doi:10.1186/1757-1146-3-21

The Right Honourable Shoes

Conservative MP, The Right Honourable, Theresa May hit the headlines in 2002 after donning a pair of leopard-print kitten heels at a Conservative Party conference. Now the UK Home Secretary openly admits she loves shoes. Something she and wife of former Prime Minsiter’s spouse, Cheree Blair, shared. Unlike Mrs Blair, Theresa probably has the most photographed feet in Westminster. She has shoes for every occasion and is seldom seen on official duty wearing the same pair. 'I wear my shoes to match my outfit,' she tells the reporters. Bold choices of her footwear have included animal-print kitten heels, leopard-print wellies, turquoise sandals, bejellewed heels, stripey courts and ruby-red flats.

Crocs :Earth to earth

Critics panned them and the press declare them dead and buried but like Lazerus, Crocs have returned. Now with aa new, higher-priced shoes that includes flip-flops and high heels, the company has come alive again. In the third quarter revenue for this year their profits were up 30% on last year the to $216 million US. Now Crocs are debt-free and brand and product focused as opposed to their old ways of being operations and distribution driven. Crocs are comfortable and earth friendly now the company have discovered their old shoes can be recycled into other secondary uses, such as playground material.

Manolo's New Shoes

Manolo's New Shoes by Manolo Blahník , Suzy Menkes, Grace Coddington, Milena Canonero, Amy Fine Collins and Carlos García Calvo.

Manolo’s New Shoes contains more than 130 of the designer’s drawings collected into a book. Manolo Blahník writes and introduction and the volume includes contributions from some of the most prominent names in fashion: Suzy Menkes (International Herald Tribune); Grace Coddington (Vogue); Milena Canonero (Fashion Designer); Amy Fine Collins (Vanity Fair); and Carlos García Calvo (El Mundo). Manolo's New Shoes provides a fascinating glimpse into the creative mind of one of the best-known contemporary shoe designer.

Toe cleavage: Whatever will the foot police say about the trend ?

This year’s winter styles of winter boots with an open toe and towering high heels seem at odds with inclement weather. Clearly fashionista don’t not have to walk through rain and sleet. All very Keepingup with the Kardashains but not so practical for those left to wear them in trying conditions. Chilblains and even frost bite are likely to be on the increase as the peep toe fashion prevail over the colder months. The Peekaboo style (or toe cleavage) became when the plastics industry developed colourful nail varnish. The fashion for painted toenails is catching with even metro-sexuals getting into the act. . In ancient Egypt (5000- 3500BC) nail painting was an art form and often included gold and nail charms. The art of nail sculpture and decoration was also practiced in Africa, hundreds of years ago. The Hausa from southern Sahara were so proud of their painted nails they wore turned up sandals to protect them. Both men and women painted their toe nails. In Egyptian times henna was often used to colour the hair, skin and nails. It took until the 19th century for the fashion of nail painting to return and much of this was due to the invention of the orange stick (for getting to the ungetatable places). Resurgence of interest in the classical brought almond shaped finger nails to the fore. Nails were often tinted red and highly polished. Just as Queen Victoria was taking to the thrown, nail painting again became an art form and there were several professional journals to cater for the new fad. New salons sprang up all over catering for all incomes. Tinted creams or powders were popular and the shiny look very vogue. In 1907 the first emery board appeared and by 1917 the dangers of damaging the cuticle was recognized and a new nail polish patented. The first beauty therapy magazine featured in 1922 and the fashion was to apply a single strip of nail paint avoiding the lunula and free edge. Etiquette books of the time warned women against painting their nails "garnish colours". The first perfumed nail varnish were introduced in 1929 but this was unpopular and quickly withdrawn. By the early thirties Charles and Joseph Revson with Charles Lachman created an opaque, non streaking nail polish based on pigments rather than dyes. This made a variety of colours available and Revlon introduced the fashion of matching lip and nail co-ordinates. A new lease of life was given to toe nail painting when shoe designers discovered how to make high heeled shoes without toe caps. The Peekaboo styles were made famous in the thirties and forties by many of the Hollywood sirens including Rita Hayward. She becomes a celebrated actress who preferred to wear her finger and toe nails, long. Her red polish establishes the fashion and new colours followed after the Second World War. This was in no short measure due to the advances in industrial chemistry associated with wartime. New practices were developed for manicure and pedicure in the late fifties when Max Factor introduced a range of nail enamels. At first the pale look was the fashion but by 1960 coral overtook and set the trend for colourful nails. During this time false nails make their debut and like false eyelashes got longer and longer. A decade later acrylic nails were introduced and nail sculpting became the happening skill. The square nail became vogue. And it was reported some women grew their own nails long and sold them at $10 per inch to women who wanted a more realistic look to their false nails. By the 1980's nails were made from fibreglass and were often tipped in gold to look chic. False nails were now available with adhesive tabs for ease in application and removal. Wu-Tang Clan the rap, hip hop outfit was quick to see the commercial opportunity and incorporated into their lyrics reference to their painted nails. The group’s management set up a company and released a new line in nail paints through Wu Nails. In their New York salon you could choose from over a hundred colours as well as have the band's logo and members faces embossed on your own nails. According to their management, the Wu Tang Clan all have their nails varnished but prefer clear polish, top and tail.

Platform Heels : Reach for the cyber sky

A new study suggests that women's passion for killer heels has caused them to receive medical attention. Researchers say that a fifth of females polled have ended up twisting their ankle or tearing a tendon when wearing their heels. One third reported falling flat on their face as a result of their heels, with many damaging their teeth and breaking their wrists. The poll of 3,000 women, found other injuries sustained in the name of fashion include broken ankles and twisted knees. One cannot rule out other contributory factors such as too much of the singing syrup. Despite the warnings of the shoe police the ‘killer heel’ continues to be popular as stores continue to promote the skyscraper heel trend. New kid on the side walk is the platform heel or ‘Sky Heel’ Shoes. The combo footwear is a fashion platform shoe with up to 9 inch heels. Their popularity is in no short measure due to those fashion slaves who worship at the feet of Lady GaGa. However celebrities are having far less influence than previously according to experts (?) who believe the power of by blog idols like Carine Roitfeld and Emmanuelle Alt , Kate Lanphear and Giovanna Battaglia take over. New style savants blindly follow influential fashion blogs like Jak & Jil, Who What Wear and Citizen Couture. The prominent bloggers are also magnets to designers and mainstream American merchants, who have built marketing strategies around them.

Killer Heels celebrity auction

Designers and celebrities are supporting Save the Children’s ‘Killer Heels’ appeal which runs throughout November and December. Nicholas Kirkwood, Camilla Skovgaard, Sienna Miller, Sadie Frost and Samantha Cameron have all donated their most iconic and show stopping killer heels to help to fund vaccines and antibiotics that will help prevent children from catching pneumonia. The designer and celebrity shoes will be on display at the Mary Portas Living & Giving Shop before being auctioned off to the highest bidder. Save the Children will also be appealing to the British public to do their bit by dropping their unwanted yet glamorous shoes at one of the 125 Save the Children shops nationwide.

Global domination: One small step

Adidas hope to outgrow Nike and dominate the world market by 2015. 2009 was a difficult year for the German sporting Goods Company but post the FIFA World Cup, Adidas have surged ahead in profits. In the first quarter of this year Adidas grew in sales in the United States, China and Russia. The company hope by introducing new clothing designs for fashion conscious teenagers combined with aggressive pursuit of social (inter)networking they will prevail supreme. Rivals, Nike is not likely to sit back and let that happen but both giants may be overshadowed by the big Chinese operators such as Li-Ning . Only time will tell.

Shoe boxes : where did they come from?

The first commercial cardboard box was produced in England in 1817 by Sir Malcolm Thornhil. The French were the first to use them for the silk month and its eggs from Japan in 1840. Valréas in France became a major cardboard manufacturing area for almost a century. Corrugated (pleated) paper was patented in England in 1856, and initially used as a liner for tall hats. Much later in 1871 corrugated boxboard was not patented and used as a shipping material. Robert Gair invented the pre-cut cardboard or paperboard box in 1890 and the first cardboard box manufactured in the United States was made in 1895. By the turn of the 20th century boxes were made from corrugated boxboard. One of the first industries to use cardboard boxes was Kellogg’s who sold their cereal in a carton. By the early 1900s, wooden crates and boxes were being replaced by corrugated paper shipping cartons. First came the shoe, and to be more precise the mass produced shoes, then came the shoe box. After mechanisation of shoe manufacturing in the mid 19th century shoe shops for the first time supplied their footwear from stored stock. The simplest way to do this was to put a pair of shoes into a box. Manufacturers were quick to realise the potential to further promote their products by using advertising copy on the actual shoes boxes. Many of which are now collector’s items. Storing shoes in shoe boxes had many benefits. Not only did they protect footwear from dust and bugs they were also ideal to optimise limited storage space available to shops. Shoe boxes allowed easily stackable storage units that were easily accessible. At first boxes with a top-open design were used which allowed simple storage with one disadvantage the vendor had to unstack several boxes if they were trying to get to something on the bottom. Boxes were made in different materials but eventually heavy-duty cardboard became the preferred medium. Shoe boxes were not just used to store shoes. The small rectangular boxes came in handy at home to store letters and notes, photos and piecemeal items like purses, gloves and hats. In an age bereft of manufactured toys for children the humble shoe box was popular plaything for children.

Shoes and Baseball Balls: What's the association?

In 1899 several shoe machinery firms integrated. These were Goodyear Machinery Company (made machinery for sewing the sole to the upper in welt shoes); Consolidated Hand Lasting Machine Company (made machines for lasting a shoe); and McKay Shoe Machinery Company (made machines for attaching soles and heels). By 1905 the United Shoe Machinery Corporation (USMC ), based in Boston began to trade. The merger revolutionized shoe equipment manufacturing and the shoe industry by using combined technologies. United grew rapidly and in 1910, it had an eighty percent share of the shoe machinery market. They began to diversify their product line and in 1949 undertook three experiments to create a baseball stitching machine. Despite producing a machine made ball USMC failed to gain support from the Baseball Manufacturers Committee of Athletic Goods Manufacturing Association in 1961 and the company abandoned the project. Baseballs are still hand sewn. Rawlings Sporting Goods, Inc. (now part of Jarden Team Sports), in Costa Rica has an exclusive contract to produce "professional" baseballs for the Major Leagues. On average a professional baseball lasts only six pitches and between five to six dozen balls are used in every game. The ball starts as a round cushioned cork centre called a "pill," then is wrapped tightly in windings of wool and polyester/cotton yarn. This is assembly process is complete with a stitched cowhide cover. There are 108 stitches in the cowhide leather of each ball, and each is done by hand.

Boots and Shoes: Rochester

The Shoe Factory Art Co-op have brought together an art exhibition on the theme of boots and shoes. More than 75 local artists were asked to contribute paintings, sculptures and even stained glass with a footwear motif to the Boots and shoes: Variations on a theme. The Shoe Factory Art Co-op 250 N Goodman Street, Studies 212 &215 Rochester, NY 14607.