Driza-Bone

History

In the late 1800s, a Scot named Edward Le Roy emigrated to New Zealand. He was able to manufacture oilskin rainwear for use by sailors on sailing ships in the local waters at the time. The garments were originally constructed from the lightweight sails of the sailing ships. The waterproofing of the clothing was by application of linseed oil to the cotton. T. E. Pearson, the son of E. J. Pearson who started Pearson Soap in Hamilton, New Zealand, took a consignment of Leroy Coats to Australia. Stockmen at the time had gathered news of this garment from sailors who had subsequently left sailing to work on the land. Because the garments were flammable around campfires, T. E. Pearson worked on developing a new formula for sealing the coats. He did this in the backyard shed of his home in Kangaroo Street, Manly. Pearson subsequently, in partnership with Leroy, registered the trademark. T.E. died in 1962 and is buried in Frenchs Forest, New South Wales.

Over time, changes were made to the original design in the order of:

longer coat for horse riding

fantail in the back of the coat to cover the saddle

wrist straps to secure the sleeves and stop the arms from getting cold

leg straps to stop the coat from flapping around

As time went by, the linseed oil (while proving satisfactory for waterproofing) went hard and cracked in the hot summers. Le Roy and T.E. Pearson (of Pearson's Sandsoap fame) came up with a new proofing technique. This new proofing technique has remained unchanged to the present day.

In late 2008, the brand was brought back into Australian ownership for the first time in many decades. The acquisition brought with it several influential industry figures, including Steve Bennett (founder of Country Road). This resulted in the immediate relocation of both the Eagleby, Queensland, head office and primary warehousing facilities to Melbourne, Victoria.