Crafted for Life – R.M. Williams
For over 80 years, R.M. Williams has been known globally for its high quality, handmade leather boots, as well as a range of apparel and accessories inspired by the Australian outback, as well as a proudly South Australian brand. Originally built for the men and women of the unforgiving Australian outback, R.M. Williams’ boots have gone on to grace the feet of millions of people worldwide, including some of the famous.
The R.M. Williams story is synonymous with the life of its founder, Reginald Murray Williams (known simply as ‘R.M.’). Born in 1908 in the small Australian locality of Balelie North, R.M. grew up in the outback, his father a settler and horse trainer.
In 1918, R.M.’s family relocated to Adelaide, South Australia. After spending three years at school and leaving at the age of 15, R.M. returned to northern Australia, preferring the outback to city life. At the age of 18, he found work as a camel driver for a missionary, trekking for thousands of miles across the Australian deserts.
R.M. and the missionary were guided through the vast plains by Aborigines (native Australians) who would teach them the ways of the Australian outback, and it was on this voyage that R.M. learned some of his first craftwork—making knots for survival and plaiting kangaroo leather.
After briefly returning to Adelaide and getting married, R.M. returned to the bush to live off the land and start a family. Shortly after returning to the wild, a craftsman named Dollar Mick visited R.M.’s family camp. The pair instantly became friends, and Dollar Mick taught R.M. how to produce more complex leather goods like saddles, bags, and, of course, boots.
In 1932, R.M.’s son contracted a form of eye disease that would incur expensive medical costs, and R.M. needed to find the funds quickly. The skills acquired from his time with Dollar Mick allowed R.M. to propose a business idea with Sidney Kidman, a wealthy cattle rancher and pastoralist based in Adelaide. Kidman was impressed with R.M.’s leather goods and agreed to have R.M. supply him with products such as leather pack saddles and riding boots. It was this agreement that made 1932 the founding year of R.M. Williams, the company.
Setting up a small factory in his father’s iron wool-shed in Adelaide, R.M.’s experiences in the outback allowed him to design and produce boots that were suitable for the elements of the outback of Australia. The boots and saddles proved so popular that orders became beyond control.
Over the next few decades, R.M. heavily invested in his company, expanding the range to include blue jeans, tough apparel made from moleskin, as well as bush equipment. In the 1970s the company expanded even further and the factory moved to Salisbury, and in 1978 the first brick and mortar store was opened in Toowoomba, just outside of Adelaide.
After becoming an Australian celebrity and living the high life, R.M. eventually abandoned the city and retired in 1988, returning to the bush once more to live off the land.
The R.M Williams company to this day continues to manufacture handmade boots, as well as a whole range of clothing and accessories such as shirts, trousers, raw denim deans, leather bags, as well as a womenswear range. The original boots remain the staple of the brand.
R.M. passed away in 2003 as an Australian legend known for his passion and spiritual connection to the Australian outback, which resonates within the products to this day, with lookbooks set in the desert and bush and the promotion of the rugged outdoor aesthetics that are engrained within the brand’s DNA.
Discover the unique and proudly South Australian brand in-store at Rod & Spur.
Images and information courtesy of rmwilliams.com.au
