I thought I would share pictures of the seven pairs of boots in my little Australian boot collection. I 'got into' these boots about 20 years ago when I attended the huge Bendigo auto swap meeting and spotted a vendor with a big wooden box filled with mint unused WWII boots, all the same size. He wanted five dollars a pair, so I bought a pair (ONE pair? was I mad? Hindsight is a wonderful thing!). Since then I have spotted more here-and-there and this is what I have today:
1 Early flat sole boots are hard to find unused. These were made in 1941 and stamped "Rampling & Hall 422" who were located in Hoddle St, Melbourne. There are two inspectors stamps; H for the upper and T for the soles.
2 A slightly worn pair stamped "V589, 654, 1944" Another Victorian pair. Uppers were inspected by K. Note the jungle cleats.
3 A pair from Western Australia: "W207, 654, 1944" Soles were inspected by M but cant make out the upper inspector.
4 A very russet finish on this South Australian pair: "S311, 65, 1945" P inspected the upper and L the soles.
5 A rather faded pair from Victoria: "V__?, 667?, 1945" Uppers inspected by W.
6 Now we jump forwards to 1966. Stamped with the size and the broad arrow but no maker visible.
7 Finally a pair from 1978, made by John Firth of South Australia and stamped D [broad arrow] D.
Feel free to add pictures of your boots here.
Cheers,
Oz.
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