The Search for Australia's Well Worn Volleys

These shoes were part of kit issue when I joined the RAAF at No. 1 Recruit Training Unit at RAAF base Edinburgh, Adelaide. They were made in 1953 and were in RAAF storage for sixteen years before being issued. They saw little use in the three-month recruitment training; I remember some mates wearing them at the communal shower block, where some would wear them under the shower in the belief they would not pick up tinea. As they were not the height of fashion at the time (especially the colour), they have been languishing in my old RAAF kit trunk since 1970.

I grew up in a small country town with 2 shoe shops. Our family shoes were all purchased at one particular shop, 6 kids - good business for him. I needed sandshoes for school sport, this was what was available. I wore them in primary school and all through high school. Also, I used them to play tennis, when I was married in the early 70s. The tread has nearly worn off. I must have kept them for sentimental reasons - remembering playing tennis after school with a good friend.

The laces are the originals.

I bought these Dunlop Sunbeam tennis shoes when I joined the Claremont Lawn Tennis Club, WA, in about 1947. They accompanied me to England in 1957 and I wore them when I occasionally played at Maida Vale club (close to London's West End). Returning to WA in 1961, I joined the Alexander Park Tennis Club in Mount Lawley. Due to other commitments, my tennis was put on hold in 1965.

Two years ago, when I was asked to play with a Seniors' group, my shoes came out of storage and now get their weekly airing.

My mum has kept my Volleys that I wore when I was 1. As you can see they are still awesome and was a great start in my life of comfy shoes and to this day I still wear Volleys because I love them. I am a scaffolder by trade and wear black Volleys to work every day. Volleys are the only comfy shoes that have the grip to hold you on the roof.

For over 40 years I have been leading bushwalks, canyon expeditions and kayak trips resulting in several well-worn pairs per year. I always insist that all participants wear Volleys due to their superior grip and comfort. This photo was taken in the Budawang Range in 1987 and, as you can see, everyone wore Volleys. I'm third from the left, peeping through as I had set the camera on a rock and had to make a hasty dash into the picture.

I wear my bright yellow and blue Volleys to West Coast Eagles games when they play in Melbourne.

They finish off my fanatical outfit perfectly.

These Volleys are well worn and have worn well. In a series of marathon walks in and across Australia during the 70s and 80s of last century, Dunlop sponsored me with the footwear I trusted, Volleys. I walked in this pair on the outback roads for approximately 450kms or 900,000 steps. The red colour is from central Australia and the wear and tear is from the distance. Campfires in the spinnifex with my wife and daughters, roos, camels, eagles, sun, storms, these Volleys have been there, done that.

Thank you Dunlop for Australian walking that was not painful but poetic.

Steel toe safety Volleys. I painted them myself to look like WW2 fighter planes, with a Woodpecker smoking a cigar and circa 1940s pin up girl. They have lasted through bush walks, music festivals, walking to the shops and kicking ass. They now fill with water and gravel from holes in the soles.

I love my Volleys. I think it started when I moved to Melbourne from Queensland. While everyone was wearing moccasins, I kept my Volleys. It has become a crime not to have a pair of Volleys in the home. News of my love was not hidden. For my 21st birthday the cake was decorated with a pair of Volleys painted gold. I still have these Volleys today (some 14 years later).

In the latter part of 1954 I bought a pair of Volleys for playing cricket, not knowing I was to be selected to carry the Olympic torch on its way to Melbourne on the 15th November 1956. I was one of 19 runners for the "Maroochy Shire Sunshine Coast Team" who carried the torch in the Olympic relay through Eumundi. This makes my Volleys 57 years old, still with genuine laces.

At Primary school, Fridays were sports day so we got to wear our sports kit all day. Thursday night would be spent giving the Volleys a fresh coat of white polish, kind of paint stuff, in a small bottle with an applicator.

This pair came from a friend who has a special talent for finding that bargain or unique item at Op shops. Pair of brand spankers, Size 10. Never seen before. I knew they were a potential collectors item! A virtual museum piece but had to wear them. Retired, perhaps a little too late to be classed as pristine.

I stub my toes a lot, like a couple of times a day, so bare feet and thongs don't really work for me in summer. Not much of a walker either so when I'm at home in Bondi I tend to skate everywhere. Then 3 years ago I decided to take a trip to Bali where I was going to be riding a motorbike around the island chasing the surf. So I needed a comfortable, durable, light and easy shoe to kick around in that looked cool. With criteria like that the fi rst shoe that came to mind, the Volley.

My Volleys were happily 'forced' on me. In 1954 Narrabeen Girls' High School opened, becoming the fi rst trendy public girls' school allowing squash as a sport. My black-soled tennis shoes were outlawed! Mum rushed out to buy me some whitesoled Volleys. They've slogged it out since then on squash and tennis courts for many years until I eased them into semi-retirement when I took up walking. I could never part with them. We've grown old together � but they've worn better than I have: they've kept their shape and are wrinkle-free!!

About 8 or 9 years ago an elderly neighbour of ours, Fred Walker, died and his widow Gladys gave me these Volleys and said that Fred was issued with them when he was demobbed after WWII. I don't know what branch of the services Fred was in, but the Volleys are marked RAN, so perhaps it was the Navy. Gladys has since died so I can't ask her. As you can see they have never been worn but as Fred was a bit of a hoarder that is hardly surprising.

My trusty Volleys and I visited my brother in Japan for a few weeks. We tackled both Fuji Rock Festival and a hike up Mt Fuji in quick succession.

With a tight schedule, we ignored the less-than-ideal weather and climbed through periodical rain, continuous damp thick mist and persistent howling winds. We had prepared ourselves with plenty to eat and drink and beer too (in case we became lost or stuck) and minimal weather protection gear, Volleys included. We arrived at the summit ahead of schedule, with the weather clearing in the morning to provide a magical sunrise session.

In 1969, wearing my trusty Volley OC's, I set foot on Everest for the very first time. Little did I know that I would end up going on many expeditions with Everest's first conqueror, Sir Edmund Hillary, as his filmmaker. Nor did I know that I would return to Everest itself many more times. When we organised the ultimate Everest Expedition, an 800km climb of Everest from sea level, guess which shoes we chose - Volleys once again.

My parents purchased this pair of Sunbeam tennis shoes in the late 1960's. As a schoolboy I rode my pushbike to tennis every Saturday morning. Before leaving I had to clean the shoes, then apply the shoe whitening after mixing it with water and applying it with a small sponge.

My mother wrote my name on the inside of the shoes with pen and ink from an inkwell so I didn't lose them.

I stopped wearing the shoes in 1974. I don't know why I have kept the shoes all this time? I guess I just like them.

These were my work shoes through three different jobs - heavy fabrication, warehouse distribution work and automotive installation. After a year the side tore off so I fixed them the drifters way - stitched them up with zip ties! They lasted another 3 months and through two days of Brisbane flood cleanups - I STILL have them and wear them regularly for dirty work!

My mother purchased my Volleys from Woodhill Haberdashery, Richmond NSW in 1954 as a reward for reaching the tennis finals in the Hawkesbury Tennis Association. We moved to Granville in 1956, the Volleys came with me. I played cricket and baseball for 12 years - married, 2 children and living in Carlingford. Played Sunday afternoon social tennis with my wife and my Volleys. Then played Saturday afternoon competition for 11 years. In 2005 I retired and moved to Ettalong Beach - my Volleys came too. I used them to mow lawns and garden. They look a little worse for wear.

My Dad has worn Volleys for over thirty years. He wouldn't be seen in anything else. They stop him falling off roofs, keep him looking casual in formal situations and he throws them at possums when they're on our cherry trees. He bulk buys them when there's a sale and has a different pair for every occasion. Our cat even sleeps on one pair. This is a picture of one of his well worn Volleys compared to a new one.

I am a Strongman competitor. My Volleys have been with me every step of the way, pulling trucks in Lismore, lifting logs in Toowoomba and throwing kegs in Ballarat. A recent van pull I did on the Sunshine Coast was featured on WIN news and the newsreaders comments after the story were more focused on the enduring legacy of the Volleys I was wearing, rather than on the van pull itself! I have promised my wife that these Volleys will be replaced soon, but I cannot bring myself to part with such a faithful friend!

I love my Volleys. They've been to Singapore and London and back. They've run two City2Surf runs in Sydney with me. Not to mention countless nights on the town accompanied by countless spills out of my glass.

We've been through everything together and you can see my pinky toe out the side.

My Volleys saved my life.

Specialists have told me that if I hadn't been wearing my Volleys, I wouldn't be here today. Three years ago I was struck by lightning in Thailand. Before I was hit, I put my Volleys on. To this day, I do not know why...but it's the reason I'm here today to tell the story. The lightning hit me directly. If I wasn't wearing Volleys, I would've been hit through the ground and directly. There was enough rubber to stop me being hit twice.

Everywhere I go, my Volleys go with me.

In 2001 I was looking for a stylish, smart, white shoe to wear to my wedding to compliment the pale blue suit and pastel pink shirt grooms ensemble. I searched far and wide but couldn't surpass the magic of Volleys. Yet I didn't imagine that they would surpass the beauty of my lovely wife as the talking point of the day.

Today they are still going strong, caked in dirt, en tout cas, paint and concrete, having taken me to glorious victory in the 2009 Section 15 Men's Tuesday Night premiership, various home renovations, camping trips and landscaping adventures.

I first wore Volleys around 1950 at the Orange Tennis Club, Wade Park. We played every Saturday and our competitions drew some very talented players including John Bromwich.

My Father knew Allan Kippax at the NSW Sports Store and we used to string racquets for the local players. Later I moved to Sydney and was able to play B Grade tennis at White City, of course wearing my Volleys.

This pair was purchased at least 35 years ago as my wife states that I had bought them long before we married in 1981.

Talk about resilient... these Volleys have helped me negotiate canyons and bushwalks, kicked winning goals at indoor soccer and been a constant complement to my adventures over the years. They've suffered third-degree burns by the campfire, been a refuge for spiders and leeches, and all along they've kept me going back for more. Dare I say it, this pair end may be nigh, but they'll sit happily in the garage with their siblings; black Volley, green Volley, and the 'oops... I really should've washed the mud off my Volleys' Volleys.

Thank you for a fine product and many happy memories.....

A few years ago, I was part of an indoor soccer team and we all wore Volleys. From this came our team name: The Volley Warriors. The team didn't win anything, but the simple fl at Volley had plenty of grip and was great for ball control. This purple checked pair was the pair I played in.

Now a little worse for wear, they have been relegated to backyard duties.

This pair flew in to Los Angeles at the end of 2009 and survived through 15 states before ending up on the edge of the Grand Canyon, while my feet sank into three feet of snow. Though not without their war wounds (notice the top of the shoelace escaping from the bottom of the shoe), they were still deemed worthy of a $30 'polish' by a gentleman in Chicago.

Here is a man of few wants: one Volley to cover his left foot, and one to cover his right foot. Volleys have taken Nuffy to the heights of Peru's Machu Picchu. They have carried him swiftly across cobble stones and away from a gory death in Spain's Pamplona. They have held him upright (inconsistently) at Munich's Octoberfest. They have navigated him through the hazy lanes of Amsterdam. Music festivals, work sites, foreign lands, farm lands and grandstands have been graced by Nuffy and his Volleys. In many ways Nuffy is like a pair of well worn Volleys. He's comforting, generous, sturdy, rugged, scruffy and always there when you need them. He's even branded like a pair of Volleys with the Dunlop symbol emblazoned on his skin. He is Nathan Wheeler. He is Nuffy. He is Volleys.

My Travel Companions. Downtown Melbs, street art, live bands. Trains, trams and buses. Sydney streets, dirty nights out. Hostels, bed bugs and one night stands. Broke. Fruit picking, cherries, grapes, sunburn. Cash. Travelling Swiss horse show, punters, mucking out. On the road. Push bike, hot, fl at, red dirt. Head north. Mookerawa. State park ranger, utes, beer, barbie. Sleeping rough, hammocks, tents, beaches and bush. Darwin, slow time. Sail boat, port, starboard, deep sea. Ocean, Timor, Indo. Hustle, bustle, poor people. Rich culture. Times changing, travel on.

I purchased these Volleys in 1972 as a young teenager and still wear them today. Although the canvas is a bit shabby, the herringbone rubber sole is still in great condition.

Personally, they've been the most comfortable shoes I've ever owned.