When you slip into a puffer jacket on a chilly Hobart morning, you're actually wearing a piece of Australian ingenuity. Nearly a century ago, George Finch—a farmer’s son from Orange, NSW—revolutionised cold-weather gear by inventing the world’s first puffer jacket for a 1922 Mount Everest expedition.
Finch, a chemist and mountaineer, was a controversial figure among the British climbing elite. But his innovations were undeniable: he introduced bottled oxygen and a custom-made “eiderdown coat” crafted from hot air balloon fabric. While others wore tweed suits and scarves, Finch’s bright green quilted jacket was mocked—until it proved superior against Everest’s brutal winds.

Though he wasn’t invited back for the 1924 climb, Finch’s design lived on. Decades later, New Zealand’s Fairy Down refined his concept for Edmund Hillary’s historic ascent, creating a jacket that closely resembles today’s puffers.

So next time you drop off your down jacket at Kingston Dry Cleaners, remember: you’re not just caring for a garment—you’re preserving a legacy of bold invention and mountain-tested resilience.