The Cloros brothers, Stanley, Bill and John, left Greece in the early 1920s and brought their fishing trade and bootmaking skills to Sydney. Smart thinking and hard work set the foundation for what would become a family tradition.
Like many new Australians, the brothers lived off their wits. They cut cast-off leather from barbershop straps into shoes and boots, selling pairs at the Surry Hills markets. By 1927 they had opened the Victor Boot Company on Commonwealth Street, supplying boots for the workers who were building modern Australia.
Through the Great Depression, demand for durable boots only grew. The brothers’ elastic sided work boot, later known as the Chelsea, became a staple. Thousands of pairs were worn during the building of icons such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
During the Second World War, the Cloros workshops supplied dependable boots for Australian soldiers. It was the beginning of a long relationship between the family and the Australian Army.
As prosperity returned, Bill Cloros handed the business to his sons. Bootmaking remained the family trade, carried forward into the next generation.
The elastic sided boot found its way from worksites into popular culture. Worn by rock bands and trendsetters in London and Sydney, the Australian Chelsea boot became a symbol of both work and style.
When many manufacturers moved offshore, George Cloros made the call to keep production in Australia. "Handcrafted in Australia" was more than a label. It was a promise of quality that would not be compromised.
George’s sons, Mark and Matt, expanded the business further. In 1987 they acquired the North Queensland Boot Co-operative, keeping skilled bootmakers in work and building on the tradition of durable, fair priced boots.
The Redback name was launched, quickly becoming a mark of Australian toughness. Artist Reg Mombassa summed it up: "I can’t work without my Redback boots."
Production expanded to a new site in Waterloo, lifting output to 650,000 pairs a year. Redback became the preferred boot supplier for fire brigades, police, emergency services, and steelworkers. In 1998, Redback secured the contract to supply the Australian Defence Force, formalising a partnership that began in the 1940s and continues today.
Nearly a century after it began, Redback boots were being worn worldwide. From miners in Pennsylvania to oil riggers in the Timor Sea, the boots carried the same reputation for rugged Australian durability. Redback also became the only foreign made boot supplied to the US military.
Today, Redback produces close to 1.5 million pairs each year from its workshop in Sydney. The range has grown, but every pair is still hand-crafted around a traditional high strength innersole by a skilled local workforce. For the Cloros family, the first duty of care remains the same as it was in 1920: to their workers, their craft, and the boots that carry people through their lives.
Every Redback boot is cut, stitched, and finished in our Alexandria workshop—where generations of bootmakers have honed their craft.
Thicker than standard leather, it keeps its shape and resists hardening or cracking.
Built with two lines of stitching for extra protection against tearing, separation, and everyday strain.
Three layers absorb impact, return energy, and improve stability while reducing strain on feet, legs, and back over long hours
An anatomic arch design distributes weight evenly, easing pressure on the feet and lowering the risk of strain.
Cross-linked and compression-molded for durability, with oil, acid, and slip resistance plus a tread design that improves flexibility and traction.
