Company History

        Burke Marine is Australia's best-loved marine clothing brand. A family owned business; Burke has dominated the Australian and New Zealand market for over 35 years and now sailors in Italy, Hong Kong, Great Britain, Netherlands, Turkey and the Caribbean are all discovering Burke.
       The iconic brand has built its reputation on great value products that always perform to the highest standard. With a huge range of safety equipment, wet weather gear, footwear, PFDs, Seabrake and accessories, Burke is dedicated to developing cutting edge technology that translates into performance on the water.

        When Marine Burke set up shop back in 1971 there was little way of knowing how our company would evolve. It all began when Martin built his first boat at 13-a VJ. This soon led to junior championships and a lot of time spent building boats in his neighbor garage.
        By the age of 17 Martin began his sailmaking apprenticeship with Joe Pearce at Hood Sails later completing it at Miller & Whitworths, working under Bob Miller (later known as Ben Lexcen) and Craig Whitworth. By 22 Martin opened his first sail loft. Back in the 70’s Martin’s was a one man operation-designing and crafting sails out of a tiny loft in Lane Cove Village, things have changed a bit since then-we can now boast a team of designers that set trends followed across the globe, a range of over 300 products and more than 450 retail outlets across Australia and New Zealand.
        What emerged was the Burke Long Haul range- an Australian made product that encompassed the latest technology, superior fabrics and above all the kind of attention to detail that promises to keep you warm and dry in any conditions.t didn’t take long before champion sailors such as lain Murray and Glenn Bourke were wearing our gear for the America’s Cup, Admiral’s Cup and of course, the Sydney to Hobart. Then Qantas got word of how good our Ocean Gear was. The likes of NRMA, BHP, Australian Air Express and DHL now wear Burke designed and manufactured clothing.With a range spanning footwear, pfds, clothing and marine accessories, Burke is now Australia’s best selling marine gear and equipment brand- the ultimate accolade in our book.