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The aroma of oilskin wafts across the room as a dozen women bend over sewing machines, stitching the legendary waxed cotton raincoats that have kept Australian stockmen "dry as a bone" for more than a century.
But the atmosphere at the Driza-Bone factory in Queensland is sombre. Last week chief executive Rod Williams flew up from Melbourne to deliver the news that half of the workforce had to go. Twenty-seven people are looking for new jobs.
The problem is rain - or, rather, lack of it. Australia is enduring its worst drought. No one is buying raincoats. The long riding coat on which Driza-Bone built its reputation is being pushed into the background as the company tries to drum up interest in less "weather-dependent" products.
Traditionally associated with the Outback, Driza-Bone is now aiming at the urban market. Its summer 2007 collection includes leather jackets, polo shirts and board shorts. Quite what the rugged men and women of the Outback make of this change of direction by one of their best-loved clothing outfitters is unclear.
Generally teamed with moleskin trousers, elastic-sided boots and an Akubra hat, the Driza-Bone has come to be seen as the national costume. At the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, the Australian team marched into the stadium in bright yellow Driza-Bones.
"The company has been making stockmen's riding coats for all of its existence, and that has become challenging, because the continent is getting drier and drier," says Williams. A Sydneysider who used to run Timberland in Britain and bought Driza-Bone two years ago, he is as closely attuned to rainfall as the Meteorological Office. "I can track the rainfall across Australia by how the phone rings the next day," he says. "If it rains in Dubbo [a New South Wales country town], my stockist in Dubbo will call and order some more coats. It's that direct."
Much of Australia is in its seventh year of drought. "We're subject to how the bush is feeling, and all our customers are suffering," says Williams.
While the job cuts were devastating, they were not a shock, says Pippa Grove, the chief operating officer. The machinists had watched the factory space shrink. They had worked shorter hours at management's request. They knew it wasn't raining.
Driza-Bone started life when Scottish sailor Edward Le Roy worked on the Windjammer ships that took wool and wheat to Europe and manufactured goods to Australia in the late 19th century. To protect himself from the rain, wind and cold in the Roaring Forties, he used old canvas sails to create a coat, waterproofing it with linseed oil and wax. Other sailors liked it, so he made some more.
Word of his coats spread, and graziers and stockmen demanded them to help cope with the climate. The coats were adapted for riding, with a fantail added at the back to cover the saddle, and leg straps to stop them flapping in high winds. They were double-stitched in crucial areas, sleeves were lengthened to protect the rider's arms.
They were so effective at keeping the wearer dry that comparisons were made with the parched bones of animals found after severe droughts. The term "Driza-Bone" was coined, and registered as a trademark in 1933.
The classic coat nowadays is almost exactly the same as in the 1940s. However, a more effective form of proofing was devised, with the exact mixture of oils kept secret.
In the 1970s the company went into receivership and was bought by Frank Fisher, who sold it to an English company in 1989. A decade later it returned to Australian hands when former managing director John Maguire joined forces with investors to buy it back.
Stories and myths about the riding coat abounds. Farmers tell of Driza-Bones emerging intact from fires, being used to dam rivers, or keeping enraged bulls at bay.
Driza-Bones were worn in two recent stage shows, The Boy from Oz and Priscilla Queen of the Desert. They have been shown at Australian Fashion Week, and awarded a place in the Australian Fashion Hall of Fame.
During a visit to Australia in 2003, President Bush and his wife, Laura, were given matching fleecy Driza-Bones. Madonna bought a tiny Driza-Bone for her baby daughter, Lourdes.
Williams' solution to the crisis, as well as diversifying, is to double exports, now 25 per cent of turnover. It's still raining outside Australia.
Henceforth the raincoat will be the only item made on Australian soil. The decision to continue making it in Queensland was based on marketing - the Driza-Bone is promoted as an Outback coat made in Australia.
- INDEPENDENT
