Meeting members in Oz

During October 2025, SATRA’s divisional manager for footwear, Simon Courtney, visited three member companies in Australia.

The first stop on the journey was to visit RM Williams in Adeleide where the company has been making their elastic-sided Chelsea boots using a single piece upper since 1932. The footwear was originally manufactured for the bushmen working in the Australian outback, but it is just as often seen in the world’s capital cities.

According to Simon, it was fantastic to see this footwear still being made. “It was exciting to see how the product is built to last and to hear about how many customers have had their boots for several decades,” he said. “It’s also interesting to see that by using traditional materials and manufacturing techniques, the company has solved some of the modern challenges raised by the demand for sustainability and durability.”

Then to Blundstone

Simon also visited Blundstone Australia in Hobart, Tasmania which has been making footwear since 1870. While most of their products are manufactured in Thailand, the company’s line of gumboots is still made at their factory in Hobart.

Blundstone’s manufacturing accreditations and compliance manager, Lindsay Marshall commented: “Now that you have visited us in our hometown, you have seen first-hand that we continue to be a Hobart, Tasmania-based global business. You have seen that we continue our long history as a PPE footwear manufacturing brand in Hobart through our programme to manufacture PVC safety gumboots.”

Finishing in Perth

The final stop on the journey was to visit Steel Blue in Perth, which has been specialising in lightweight work and safety boots since 1995, and take pride in producing comfortable footwear.

The company’s ‘Trisole Comfort Technology’ is marketed as a unique soling system providing premium support and comfort to shield the wearer from stress-related injuries and the fatigue of hard work. Steel Blue also makes women’s work boots which have reportedly been designed to take account of the anatomical differences between men’s and women’s feet. Said to be built on a true female last, the footwear has a higher arch, shorter instep and shorter ankle length.

“It is important for SATRA to visit members, despite the challenges of them being 10,000 miles away,” commented Simon. “This trip allowed me to visit three important members and discuss ways that they can fully utilise their membership and to access all the services available to them. These discussions will lead to closer work with these companies over the coming years, and I look forward to having our technical team make similar journeys and pick up from the discussions I have had.”

The photograph above shows shoemaking at RM Williams in Adeleide.

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 31 of the December 2025 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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