R. M. Williams

Reginald Murray Williams AO CMG (24 May 1908 – 4 November 2003) was an Australian bushman and entrepreneur who rose from a swagman to a millionaire.

Williams had many adventures in Australia's rugged outback as a bushman, and became known for creating an Australian style of bushwear clothing and footwear recognised worldwide and the company that bore his name.

[4] Williams learned his leather-working skills from an Aboriginal stockman called "Dollar Mick" Smith,[7] making bridles, pack saddles and riding boots near Nepabunna in the northern Flinders Ranges.

He set up a workshop and employed local Adnyamathanha people from the Nepabunna Mission, who played an important part in building up his business between 1932 and 1934.

[8] In 1932, with his son's illness and the expense of hospital treatment, he was in need of money and began selling his saddles to Sir Sidney Kidman, a wealthy pastoralist.

[citation needed] Williams sold the business in 1988 to the long-established South Australian stock and station agents Bennett & Fisher Limited.

[citation needed] The bush businessman has left several legacies: A major road in South Australia's mid north, which runs between Stanley Flat (near Clare) and Hawker, via Jamestown has been named the RM Williams Way in his honour.

Stockman's quarters on Williams's property at Dry Creek
A pair of R. M. Williams elastic-sided boots
R. M. Williams Monument in Jamestown, South Australia