Every Murchison River Swag is lovingly handmade by husband-and-wife team John and Gabrielle Andrews.
Story Aleisha Orr Photos Marnie Hawson
When John and Gabrielle Andrews decided to buy a family home in Geraldton, WA, in the early 1980s, they had one prerequisite – that there would be a shed for John’s upholstery work. The property the newlyweds purchased came with a big shed previously used for packing tomatoes, grown in local market gardens. That tin shed, with a concrete floor, one light switch and 3 louvred windows, is where Murchison River Swags was born and operated for its first 4 decades.
During the week the couple mostly worked on reupholstering lounge suites for local families, but on the weekends, they would often take their children camping, either to the beach, at horse events for their children or in the bush while gold prospecting. “We made swags for ourselves and for the kids and people started asking us, could we make them a good quality swag,” Gabrielle says.
Customers often brought them tent-style swags to repair, so the Andrews could see there could be a market for something sturdier. “We had repaired so many, we wanted to make one that wasn’t going to come back for repairs,” she says.
In recent years the Andrews stopped furniture upholstery to focus solely on making their swags.
This story excerpt is from Issue #159
Outback Magazine: February/March 2025
