An iconic history

The site of Kingslea Broadmeadows, situated on the corner of Blair Street and King William Street, was once home to an iconic Australian brand, Hard Yakka, for 50 years.

Starting out as a small clothing company founded by David J. Laidlaw in the 1930’s, the legendary Hard Yakka brand today is synonymous with high quality and durable workwear.

In the decades after the brand’s initial creation, the production of Hard Yakka workwear expanded as a result of high demand and an administration and manufacturing plant was established in Broadmeadows in 1963.

The Broadmeadows site soon became the headquarters of Hard Yakka, acting as an important employment hub for many local residents, including skilled migrants who utilised their crafts in the historic sewing room.
Today, the Hard Yakka brand continues to flourish and innovate the production of workwear throughout much larger facilities, which resulted in the Broadmeadows plant ceasing production in 2013.

This iconic site is now transforming into a new residential community – Kingslea Broadmeadows. In salutation of the importance and significance of the site to the local area, Kingslea Broadmeadows is paying homage to its history in a variety of ways:

• At the de-construction of the workshop, a number of bricks were retained and will be repurposed in the facades of Kingslea’s town homes.
• The saw-tooth roof design of our Soho town homes reflects the architecture of the Hard Yakka factory.
• The Kingslea logo utilises the iconic Hard Yakka font.

We’re excited to see this once active employment hub, come to life once again – this time in the form of a dynamic residential community, characterised by urban sophistication and embracing the contemporary living options of the future.