How to hide your gold from a bushranger – 2

Continued on from Part 1 >

John Lobb, five generations on, in London:

The bootmakers of London had a contact form on their website, so yes, of course I emailed them, in hot pursuit of an original John Lobb pair of boots.

I found something perhaps better.

His descendants still make bespoke shoes and boots using the hollow heel design of John Lobb their ancestor circa 1850s.

John Lobb boots now: The hollow heel with a one pound coin for relative size.

The finished boot.

Johnathon Hunter Lobb, the director for John Lobb in London, replied back about whether they had any original designs or drawings from the 1850s of their ancestor’s boots.

“Our archives don’t go back that far. However we continue as a family business and keep the craft alive. We made up this pair of boots recently with the original hollow heel prospector boot in mind. The boot itself is a classic work boot that may well have been worn by the prospectors. The heel has been hollowed and is closed off be a leather flap which sits under the heel of the foot.”

Despite bushrangers not being not a problem on the streets of London, John Lobb Boots are highly sought after by celebrities, royalty and those who love bespoke footwear: they cost a minimum 5000 pounds new.

If only I could indulge and order a pair of boots with secret compartment footwear.

I had hoped to track down an original pair of John Lobb boots but unfortunately my search has not turned up anything… yet. I’m still on the case. I have some collections and museums on my bucket list to contact just in case a pair of Lobb boots are out there.

Want to check out more? Follow these links:

More on Thomas Balcombe: https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2079747463/view

John Lobb, Bootmaker, of London: https://www.johnlobbltd.co.uk/

Coming soon:

The Rogues of Ballydoon will be released late June–early July and will feature a pair of John Lobb boots.