130-year-old Melbourne flag manufacturer celebrates its historical ties with the Anzac centenary

Two of the flags restored by Evan Evans for the Anzac Day Parade

A Melbourne flag manufacturing company that has stood the test of time will be commemorating the Anzac centenary tomorrow by unveiling 12 banners it first made for World War I at the Anzac Day Parade in Melbourne’s CBD.

Evan Evans has been working in conjunction with the Embroiderers Guild of Victoria and the Victorian RSL since late last year to restore the flags to their original condition, with  eight volunteers putting in more than 500 hours of work dyeing, bunting and stitching around letters as well as removing rusty nails.

Roger Cameron, owner and managing director of Evan Evans, said in a statement this morning the “hard work put into restoring the banners confirms… the ANZAC spirit is very much alive in the community.”

“Australians are becoming increasingly patriotic each year and the centenary has reignited Australia’s gratitude for the fight, determination and courage of the Anzacs,” Cameron says. 

Speaking to SmartCompany, Cameron says he has seen a major resurgence of Anzac commemoration in his time at the company over the past 15 years or so.

“There’s been a major increase” in Anzac flag sales at Evan Evans over the past decade, Cameron says, with 10% year-on-year growth over the past 10 years and 30% in the past year alone.

Cameron also shared the history of the flag maker, which has been operating for 130 years and managed to withstand the continued tough conditions in the Australian manufacturing sector.

Evan Evans began its journey as a manufacturing company in 1877 when the eponymous businessman decided to make tents and goods made of canvas at 24 years of age. This was after his ship wrecked off the coast near Warrnambool and he decided to settle in Victoria.

Ivor Evans, Evan’s youngest son, was one of the winners of the competition to design the Australian flag in 1901 and became the firm’s managing director in 1922.

In World War I, the company produced 354,581 items for the Australian armed forces as well as 200,000 mess tin covers for the British Army Requisition.

Depression and then growth followed in the 1920s and 1930s before Ivor Evans, as managing director, was appointed by the Commonwealth Department of Supply as honorary Comptroller of Canvasware during World War II.

Cameron attributes part of the longevity of Evan Evans, which employs 30 staff, to “diversification of more than one product”. Among other things, the company has made awnings for the Melbourne Cricket Ground, covering more than 700 square metres, and a rug for an elephant named Lizzie at Melbourne Zoo. The business also produces banners and signage for top sporting events, including the Melbourne Cup.

Cameron’s involvement with Evan Evans began in 1999, when Cameron was a supplier and “the company was in financial trouble,” he says.  

Cameron took over ownership of the company and under his watch, Evan Evans was the “first to print flags digitally, 14 years ago,” he says.

“We’ve spent a lot of money on the latest technology”, Cameron says.

“I guess we’ve changed with the times.”

Exporting to places such as Singapore, the Middle East and Hong Kong, “determination” is the secret to ongoing success, he says.

Despite labour costs being high compared to the rest of the world, Evan Evans only imports its fabrics as there’s “no one in Australia” to buy from but still manufactures its products locally.

“It’s the principle, (it’s) what I believe.”