The Gidgee Smith Story

Gidgee Smith Products is a small Australian owned company based at Morven
in South West Queensland. The business was first set up when we were located at Quilpie which is the gateway to the Channel Country.

Having an active and sporting family, we are involved in everything: horse riding, bike riding, football, netball, cricket, swimming, highland dancing and music. I started out to making a few saddle and gear bags for our children, but when my friends saw them, they wanted them too and so the business evolved.

The name Gidgee Smith originated by combining our last name Smith with the name of one of the well know trees in the Quilpie area, the "Gidyea tree". As my name is spelt Kylee, I decided to adopt the same principal in spelling Gidgee. I manufacture all of the products myself, and have relied on many great friends and family for support and inspiration. My main goal is to provide a bag that will withstand the rough and tumble of every day country living. I wanted to make something that would last. Our product range has steadily grown over the last couple of years, and I suspect that it will continue to do so, as clients come up with new ideas, as well as improving on the old ones. We welcome suggestions.

Our range of products includes basic models through to designer products in each size. The majority of the products are made from a PVC Coated Polyester which is a tough and durable product, that is both water and dust resistant. Bags come assorted beautiful colours as either single colours or combinations and can be personalised by adding your business name & details, personal name or other graphics. Our personalised bags are unique.

When designing and making these products we took into account the harsh conditions that most rural workers and horse sport competitors have to face. We use heavy duty zips, handles, and also have a double base on these bags. The double base gives you two layers of heavy duty pvc for extra strength, also protecting the bag handles, which go all the way around the bag. We sew around the inside of the bag twice to made it stronger. As an optional extra, we can sew a leather patch on the bags from the bridle size up, that can be stamped or branded. They have a cattle tag with our company details for a zip pull, and the bags are individually numbered.

We have already released 5 new products in our range this year. I originally started selling bags to people involved in the horse sports but now our clientele has grown to include riggers, ringers, miners, shearers, boarding school students, truck drivers, rock climbers, mustering teams, bull riders, cowboys , cowgirls, lots of Grandmothers and so on.

We launched our web site in October 2004. The site has a display of all our products. We aim to provide a good reliable product that comes with good reliable service. We welcome new business and looking after return clients is a major priority.