What Happened to Australian Shoe Manufacturing?

Growing up in Sydney, producing footwear in Australia wasn't unusual. It was a huge industry.

There were shoe manufacturers everywhere, but behind those factories was another whole industry that most people probably never thought about — tanneries producing leather, companies making soles and heels, component suppliers such as lasts and buckles, machinery suppliers, and all the different materials needed to make a pair of shoes.

So much of it was made right here in Australia. And I grew up right in the middle of it.

Sam making boots at Mandic Shoes in the 2000s — the skills and craftsmanship behind Australian footwear manufacturing.

When Marrickville Made Shoes

Our first Mandic Shoes factory was in Shirlow Street, Marrickville, and back then Marrickville and the surrounding inner west of Sydney was a real manufacturing hub.

We certainly weren't the only shoe factory.

I remember businesses such as Riviera Shoes, owned by Joe Blick, which specialised in men's hand-sewn moccasins, and Karandonis Shoes, to name a few. There were many other manufacturers scattered throughout the area, some large and some small, often family businesses just like ours.

Historical records confirm just how established manufacturing was in Marrickville. By 1935 there were more than 130 manufacturing businesses in the suburb, and by 1961 Marrickville was described as having around 900 different industries and undertakings. Shoes and boots were very much part of that manufacturing landscape.

13 Shirlow Street, Marrickville - the site of our first Mandic Shoes factory.

But what I remember most isn't simply a list of company names. It was the feeling of being part of an industry.

People knew each other. Workers moved between factories and skills were passed on. Suppliers would arrive at the factory with new leathers, colours, soles and components to show Dad. It was exciting!

There was an entire network of people and businesses behind every pair of shoes we made.

It Wasn't Just the Shoe Factories

This is the part I think is often forgotten when we talk about the decline of Australian manufacturing.

A shoe manufacturer didn't operate in isolation.

We had Australian tanneries producing leather. There were companies manufacturing soling materials, heels and components. There were pattern makers and designers, last makers and knife makers who produced the cutting knives used to cut the leather, as well as people who repaired and maintained the machinery.

Shoe lasts — an essential part of footwear manufacturing, used to give each style and size its shape.

Australia was producing footwear on an enormous scale.

In 1966–67, Australian factories produced around 29 million pairs of boots, shoes and sandals, as well as more than 12 million pairs of slippers.

Think about that today — millions and millions of pairs of shoes being made here by Australian workers.

Rows of sheepskin slippers in production at Mandic Shoes in the 2000s.

Melbourne also had an enormous footwear industry, particularly around areas such as Collingwood, Fitzroy and Abbotsford, with footwear manufacturers, tanneries and suppliers all forming part of that manufacturing community.

It wasn't a niche industry. It employed thousands of Australians and supported many more businesses around it.

Then the Industry Began to Change

Australian footwear manufacturing was protected from imports for many years through tariffs and import quotas.

That protection made it possible for Australian manufacturers to employ Australian workers, buy materials locally and compete in our own market.

But progressively that changed.

From the late 1980s and through the 1990s, Australia began significantly reducing protection for the textile, clothing and footwear industries.

In 1990, the tariff on imported footwear was still around 45%. By 2000, it had fallen to 15%, and import quotas had been abolished by 1993.

Suddenly Australian factories were competing much more directly against footwear being manufactured in countries where labour and production costs were considerably lower.

We watched the industry around us begin to disappear.

Factories closed. Suppliers lost customers. People who had spent decades learning their trade found that those skills were no longer in demand.

And as more factories disappeared, the supporting industry disappeared with them.

We didn't just lose shoe factories. We lost much of the industry that existed around them.

Mandic Shoes Had to Change Too

Eventually, we had to face the same reality.

Moving manufacturing offshore was one of the hardest decisions I ever made in business.

For me, manufacturing wasn't an abstract business decision. It was a creative process where we made something beautiful and desirable.

Cutting leather at Mandic Shoes - using a clicking press - one of the many stages involved in producing footwear.

Dad had come to Australia from Croatia and built a business manufacturing footwear here. That was something we were incredibly proud of.

But there came a point where the economics simply made it harder and harder to do what we loved.

Like so many Australian footwear companies, we had to adapt. And although Mandic Shoes survived, a very different Australian footwear industry emerged.

The Australian Manufacturers Still Making Shoes

That's why I have enormous respect for the manufacturers who have managed to keep making footwear in Australia.

For example, Mongrel Boots, made by Victor Footwear in Sydney, continues a family shoemaking history stretching back generations.

Redback Boots also continues to manufacture in Sydney, while R.M.Williams continues making its iconic boots in Adelaide.

These companies have managed to hold onto something that has become increasingly rare — the skills, machinery and knowledge required to manufacture footwear in Australia.

More recently, there have also been encouraging signs that people are beginning to recognise the importance of keeping those skills alive.

In some ways, it feels as though we've gone full circle and people are appreciating bespoke quality, craftsmanship and design again.

Sadly, for most of the factories that once existed, that appreciation has come too late.

Perhaps We're Starting to Value It Again

One story I've been particularly interested in is Rossi Boots.

Rossi began making boots in Adelaide more than a century ago and became another great Australian family footwear business.

In 2023, Rossi Boots was purchased by S. Kidman & Co, with Gina Rinehart as executive chair. The group has also acquired another iconic Australian name, Driza-Bone.

Meanwhile, R.M.Williams, now owned by Andrew and Nicola Forrest's Tattarang, has continued investing in its South Australian manufacturing operation and in training another generation in leatherworking and footwear production.

I find that encouraging — and exciting!

Not because I think we're suddenly going to return to the Australian footwear industry I remember as a child. That world has changed.

But perhaps we're beginning to understand that when manufacturing disappears, we don't just lose a factory.

We lose beautiful, well made products, but we also lose skills, knowledge, suppliers, apprenticeships and jobs.

And sometimes we lose something that is incredibly difficult to rebuild.

Looking Back Now

As Anita and I gradually wind down Mandic Shoes after more than 60 years, I've found myself thinking much more about the industry Dad became part of when he started making shoes in Sydney all those years ago.

Our story wasn't happening in isolation. We were one small part of a very large Australian footwear industry.

I was lucky enough to grow up inside it, eventually work in it myself and see firsthand how dramatically it changed.

Slowly, an entire industry that had taken generations to build began to disappear.

That's perhaps what I want people to remember most from this story.

Yes, Australian-made footwear will be more costly to buy, but it was never simply about where the final pair of shoes was put together. There was an entire Australian industry behind that pair of shoes.

And although much of that industry has now disappeared, I think it's a story worth remembering.

Because behind every Australian-made shoe was much more than a label saying Made in Australia.

There was an entire industry — and thousands of Australian livelihoods — behind it.

Julie & Anita
Mandic Shoes