Swanndri celebrates one hundred years

Greeted by the excited wagging of dog tails and a motorbike in the garage, you can tell this family will be no stranger to a Swannie.

The Holmans currently own two Swanndri jackets, a Bushshirt and a baby blanket bought by Nanna for the first born.

Dairy farmer and mother of two Leigh Holman has grown up with Swanndri for as long as she can remember.

“Now we’ve given them to two friends for their first babies,” she says.

“Tell her about Karin!” her husband Michael chimes in from the nearby couch.

Karin is a teacher at the local kindergarten. “We brought her a (Swanndri) scarf once,” she laughs.

Swanndri is in many homes around New Zealand and this year is a big one for the brand. This year Swanndri is celebrating 100.

Set up in 1913 by Taranaki tailor William Broome, the brand soon became a household name and an important part of every farmer’s wardrobe.

Broome created the original jackets after becoming frustrated with New Zealand weather, and the name came because of the way the water ran off the jackets like it does swans’ backs.

The original Swanndri was short-sleeved and tied up around the neck. In 1927 a tailor named John McKendrick added a hood, a laced front, and long sleeves to the original design, creating the olive green Bush Shirt.

One hundred years on and Swanndri is still creating the original style Swanndri and the McKendrick adapted jackets amongst its extensive range.

Self-confessed city boy and Swanndri CEO Mark Nevin, has been working in the apparel industry for the past decade and in 2009 he was given the opportunity to lead Swanndri.

“Swanndri to me is a brand that has a heritage and a flavour that is absolutely unique, not only in New Zealand but in our own little way around the whole world,” he says.

A few years ago at Fieldays Nevin got to witness Swanndri’s mark on the world first hand.

“A lady from California was in our stall and I went over to her and just asked her if I could help her with anything in particular. She told me she was just reminiscing and she told me a lovely story about how she had married a Kiwi bloke many, many years ago.

“He had moved to California and was working in forestry over there and while they were over there he came back to New Zealand for a short time for a holiday. When he returned he had taken with him about half a dozen red and black Original Bushshirts and he gave them as gifts to his forestry mates.

“She remembered this gang of forestry workers in California all wearing these red and black Bushshirts. So she herself was here a few years ago on holiday and was in the Swanndri marquee and saw all these red and black Bushshirts and it just brought back a really nice memory for her.”

Swanndri of course will be back at Fieldays this year and they will be celebrating their milestone by offering anniversary deals.

The Holman family will definitely be taking advantage of the Fieldays specials. This year Leigh and Michael are going to buy their younger son Callum his own Swanndri, since older brother Lachlan has one.

“As long as we’re on the farm I’d probably buy Swanndri because you know [the children] are going to be warm in it,” says Leigh.

She remembers when she was a child her granddad wore Swanndri. “He had two of the jackets for about 20 years,” she fondly recalls. Leigh even sported one of them herself while she sat on the back of her granddad’s tractor, feeding out hay.

But Leigh isn’t the only Swanndri fan who has a family connection with the brand.

“I’ve got one that’s in the family that me and my old man both use,” says keen hunter Max Brooks, 20.

“People enjoy it you know, they remember wearing Swanndri with the old man and that sort of
thing. It’s kind of a family connection – there’s sentimental value in having a Swanndri as well,” he
says.

“Most people that have a Swanndri have had it for years and year and years. People kind of get one and stick with it – it becomes a bit of an heirloom.

Even with the Swanndri being manufacturing offshore since 2005, both Max and Leigh agree that it has made no difference to its icon status here in New Zealand. “As long as the quality is the same,” says Leigh.

“There are very, very few brands, apparel brands especially, that can claim that they’ve lived through 100 years of change and business challenges and we’re still here and doing very well,” says Nevin.