Shoemaker makes size 23 shoes for 7-foot Fijian

A Dunedin shoemaker has created a gargantuan pair of shoes for a 2.36m tall Fijian missionary.

At 44cm from heel to toe, the size 23 black leather dress shoes are no ballerina's slipper.

McKinlay's Footwear co-owner Gaeme McKinlay told the Otago Daily Times they had the occasional order for a size 18 or 19 shoe but this was the largest in the company's 128 years of shoemaking.

The shoes used twice the amount of leather required for the average man's size 9s and boot laces are needed to lace them up.

Missionary Kali Selei told the newspaper he had been wearing an American pair of size 22s for the past few years which had been a bit on the small side.

The shoes, which are being donated by McKinlay's, will have to be sent out in a carton as no shoebox is large enough.

- NZPA