The city of Geelong is known for many things, from its iconic waterfront to its blue and white Cats. In Australia’s design circles however, the city is recognised for its creative arts and cultural scene, where a once burgeoning wool industry made it a wellspring for brands, creatives, and design movements.
Godfrey Hirst is arguably the most renowned of these, with well over a century of operations cementing them as one of Australia’s most celebrated names in commercial carpet and flooring design. 2025 marks 160 years of local manufacturing, the latest milestone in a journey that has seen local roots create a global impact.
A Local Icon
In 1865, one of Victoria’s first textile mills opened, with the Victorian Woollen and Cloth Manufacturing company established in Geelong’s thriving agriculture and manufacturing landscape. Within its first 10 years of opening, the mill had already made a name for itself internationally, with its fabrics used to create a suit for HRH Duke of Edinburgh in 1869 and winning the Gold Medal Prize at the London International Exhibition in 1873.
In 1880, Godfrey Hirst arrived on Australian shores from England, bringing with him skills in weaving thanks to his Spinner father. After first joining the mill, Hirst went on to launch his own business venture in 1888, renting a shed in Geelong’s Fyans street and charting the course for a company that would begin in flannel production and evolve to carpets, still carrying the name of its founding father 160 years on.
Today, Godfrey Hirst produces thousands of meters of carpet daily with over 1000 employees across Australia and New Zealand. Stil maintaining the company’s original commitment to the innovative and the entrepreneurial, doing so across four carpet manufacturing facilities, three yarn processing sites, 10 distribution centres, and 14 sales offices. Through all of this, their spiritual home of Geelong remains their core hub, their beating heart that not only holds the history the brand, but also their present and their future.
A home-grown global force
As Godfrey Hirst turns 160, they are no longer the small operators they once were, with their decades upon decades of success now positioning them as a multi-national force. Recognising their established standing and burgeoning legacy across local, national, and international markets, global flooring company Mohawk Industries acquired the company in 2018, bringing an unprecedented scale and investment to the Godfrey Hirst brand. With the backing of their parent company, Godfrey Hirst has expanded their product offering, showcasing the quality of Australian manufacturing on the global stage.
Despite this reach, Godfrey Hirst remains true to their roots, and are committed to supporting, celebrating, and investing in the people and places who have supported them from the beginning. From partnerships with mental health organisation Beyond Blue and local disability not-for-profit genU, to a program that celebrates and supports Indigenous knowledge and communities with Dreamtime Flooring, the brand creates and leverages collections and initiatives that leave a legacy of doing more and doing better. Environmentally, ocean clean-up programs and regenerative exercises for rewilding across Aotearoa New Zealand firmly positions Godfrey Hirst as stewards of the places and communities they are situated within.
With the benefit of a local lens, Godfrey Hurst is uniquely placed to understand the specific challenges of their communities, enabling them to respond with collaborations and programs that uplift, inspire, and create better outcomes for people and places.
Integrated into industry
For local designers and architects, this combination of the local and the global makes the brand a tour de force, a mirror of our wider industry that is fiercely authentic yet internationally relevant. For many in this cohort, a commitment to local industry is an essential shared value, with Australian industry turning again and again to suppliers who understand global trends while still being based on our shores. Indeed, a recent survey with interior designers and architects showed that 95% of the cohort prioritise locally made carpets for commercial installations. This rings true with Godfrey Hirst, where their position as one of only a handful of local manufacturers, has meant their locally made solutions are trusted in the spaces where people live, learn, work, play and rest.
Geelong, and indeed Australia, has changed a lot in 160 years. Throughout it all, Godfrey Hirst has been there, embedded in our communities, our landscape, and our design scene. Their evolution from textile mill to global flooring solution powerhouse is a story that tracks with the rise of Australian design, where a commitment to authenticity, innovation, and quality has made it irresistible to a market that is always searching for something exceptionally genuine.
