Murchison River Swags
Article by Alys Armitage | Photography by Marnie Hawson
The Murchison River begins far inland near Meekatharra and winds 820 kilometres to the Indian Ocean, cutting through gorges and scrub that seem as old as time itself. For John Andrews, it’s always been fitting that the business he and his wife Gabrielle founded nearly four decades ago carried the river’s name.
Murchison River Swags is more than a brand. It’s a promise of durability, integrity and connection to the land.
Back in 1983, newlyweds John and Gabrielle were looking for a place to settle. They had met in Townsville — he was army infantry, she was in the Air Force — and decided to return to John’s original trade: upholstery. “We’d never been to Geraldton,” Gabrielle laughs. “We bought this house because it had a shed and it was on the same parallel as the Gold Coast on the map — we thought the weather must be good!” That shed, once used to pack tomatoes, became the foundation of their family business.
John’s skills as a tradesman were honed early. His grandfather was a Savile Row tailor in London, and John himself had apprenticed with renowned furniture-makers TH Brown. Gabrielle managed the books and, later, trained as an upholsterer too. “We decided I needed to be qualified to give customers confidence that I knew what I was talking about,” she says.
Requests for quality swags came quickly. “People would ask if we could make something that wouldn’t fall apart,” Gabrielle recalls. “So we took a year to research the right canvas, threads, zips. We wanted the best of everything — we didn’t want anything coming back for repair.”
The result was a traditional Australian swag like no other — crafted from Australian-made, military-grade heavy-duty canvas: waterproof yet breathable, rot- and mildew-resistant, and free from the formaldehyde used in many imported products. Inside, a foam mattress designed for real comfort. “We always say, ‘If it was for me, what would I want?’ That’s been our standard from day one,” says Gabrielle.
Today, Murchison River Swags holds a reputation as the best of the best, with an extensive waiting list — a testament to the trust they’ve built over decades. When you buy a Murchison River Swag, you’re joining a long line of Australians who wouldn’t dream of heading out with anything else.
The couple recently closed their upholstery business to focus entirely on swags and bags. Their new workshop — dubbed “the Taj Mahal of sheds” — replaces the old tin shack that saw them through four decades of work. John is seventy now, Gabrielle not far behind, but retirement isn’t on their minds. “We’re still here, still making them ourselves,” says Gabrielle. “And as long as we can keep doing that, we will.”
As Gabrielle puts it simply: “We’ve always been on the same page — do it properly, or don’t do it at all.”
This piece has been produced in partnership with Signet, an Aussie packaging company proudly supporting Australian businesses since 1968. For more than twenty-five years, they’ve helped John and Gabrielle Andrews finish each Murchison River Swag with their Australian-made Oneshot stencil system. Ensuring every product leaving the Geraldton workshop carries the same hallmark of quality and authenticity that defines their craft. Like Murchison River Swags, Signet stands for reliability, ingenuity and backing the makers who keep Australia’s story stitched together.
