Brand in Focus Blundstone
Go anywhere, Do anything, and Look good every step of the way.
Go anywhere, do anything, and look good every step of the way is the mission statement of Blundstone a boot that started life in a new land and found its way around the world.
In 1770 Lieutenant James Cook claimed possession of the East coast of Australia for the British Crown.
In 1804 Tasmania had become a British Colony and British settlement was starting to spread through to every part of Australia. In the shadow of a mountain which was named Mount Wellington there was an area of good land that soon became a settlement for a penal colony. The area became known as Hobart Town or Hobarton after Robert Hobart the 4th Earl of Buckinghamshire but is now known as Hobart and is the capital of Tasmania.
In 1853 two men landed in Hobart, the first was James Cuthbertson, who, with his brother Thomas sailed on the Coromandel, the first ship to bring settlers to Australia, and were bound for Melbourne when fierce winds blew them of course and they ended up in Hobart.
The second man to arrive was John Blundstone aged 24 and a carriage builder with his wife Eliza who was 21, seeking a better life for them both.
Both men had experience as footwear makers and both men set up businesses manufacturing and importing various kinds of footwear and initially both businesses prospered.
By 1892 John Blundstones eldest son had joined his father in the business and the duo formed J. Blundstone & Son. Soon they outgrew the premises they were in and invested in a purpose built two storey factory based on Campbell Street.
James Cuthbertson had also prospered and now had a growing business at 71 Liverpool Street, plus a tannery under the name of Cuthbertson Brothers.
In 1901 J Blundstone and Son was coming under increasing financial difficulty and were eventually bought by the Cane family.
The Canes ran the company until the Great Australian Depression of the 1930’s, when the country was brought almost to its knees with years of high unemployment, poverty, low profits, deflation, plunging incomes and lost opportunities and personal advancement.
In 1932 Blundstone was put up for sale and the Cuthbertson brothers bought it for a small sum plus the existing debt. The brothers soon set about amalgamating the companies and retained the Blundstone name for the footwear manufacturing side of the business whilst keeping the name of Cuthbertson Brothers for the name of the growing tannery business.
Born and bred to be tough Blundstone boots were made for the terrain and the weather they lived with. Blundstones are designed and made to be lived in, sturdy yet stylish. Blundstone now oversees a global supply chain and uses the best components, designs, and innovative ideas to create a sustainable product that can do anything, go anywhere, and look good every step of the way.
In the 1980s, nearly 90 years later, Blundstone was asked to vacate the premises they occupied on Campbell Street. They soon found a new home in Moonah and the headquarters are still there today.
In the beginning the boots were lace up but with the discovery of vulcanisation and the inclusion of elasticated rubber gussets the boots were transformed into easy pull-on Elastic Ankle Boot making them practical, fashionable, and functional.
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