About

We specialise in providing quality Western Apparel. Outback Traders has become one of the Australian Outback’s well-known & established icons.

Western Apparel  | Outback Traders

This is my Journey

It’s how I came to build relationships with people in the Australian Outback and how it fired my passion with Boots, Hats & Western Apparel. In the beginning I had no idea how it would lead to my deep connections with many people from the city and the country both locally and internationally.

I grew up in Perth, in the South West of Australia. It was the 1960’s. In our family we didn’t watch much television and so we would go to movies every week. I spent my spare time reading books or listening to the radio. I remember listening to Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins and many other artists who sang their songs of country life, cowboy boots, trains, horses and lost love. Guitars, they go with boots and hats!

I had a great thirst for knowledge and spent many hours reading. I loved the stories of the frontier. The Outback, the Wild West in the United States and Mexico. The Adventurers, the Cowboys and the Indians all became my heroes. By the time I was 19 I had enough of schooling and training and I set out to discover Australia.

What followed was an appreciation for nature and animals, the country and wide open spaces. I remember that we often spent time in the country. My father was a keen conservationist and he especially was interested in birds. It was here in the bush that he taught me the power of observation and how to pay attention to details. I didn’t realise at the time how valuable this skill would be in my future. Thanks Dad! 

Over the next few years, I traveled twice around this beautiful big country on a motorcycle. I worked where I could and met amazing people from all walks of life. I will never forget the train journey that I took from Adelaide to Alice Springs on the Old Ghan Railway. It was like a time warp, so ancient! Eventually I reached Darwin in the Northern Territory. It was the last frontier and I was hooked.

I made my home in the Territory and it was there that I came to connect with Aboriginal culture. I was persuaded by one group to work for them in community management. This opened up a whole new world of communication, connection and understanding.  After a few years I found working through government organisations too restrictive and In 1991 I decided to try my hand at being a hawker. In the Outback a hawker is someone who travels about selling their wares. In the past it was a vital and necessary service to people who lived in isolation.

I began traveling extensively throughout the western side of the Northern Territory and The Kimberly’s.  An amazing journey. I connected deeply with outback communities, aboriginal culture and the cattle industry. Outback Traders was born and it was the beginning of a new journey.

We specialise in providing quality Western Apparel.

We also have a mobile store in a trailer that has travelled Australia for many years. Nowadays the trailer can be seen at many major events, shows, camp drafts and rodeos. Check out our story Outback Traders Mobile Outlet out and as always stay tuned to hear about our events!