OKANUI HERITAGE
The Okanui story begins with a love of surfing, a touch of ingenuity and a lot of pioneering Australian spirit.
Founder Dick Ash was just 15 when he was inspired to create his first pair of cotton board shorts using his mum’s sewing machine and some old canvas mailbags from the Avalon Post Office. The shorts were cut long, and suited perfectly for sitting on the new-style Okanui surfboards that had exploded on to the Aussie surf scene in 1956.
Before long, he was making the shorts for all of his surfing mates. He nicknamed them Okanuis, and a true Australian surf icon was born!
In 1978 Dick decided to take his shorts to the masses. Not content with plain canvas, he designed the distinctive hibiscus print that remains the signature of the Okanui clothing brand today, typifying the timeless and tropical spirit of days at the beach and in the water.