Merchandising meccas and other commercial curiosities. Our exhibits range from the early 20th century to the present day.
1957 was perhaps the most important year in history for the Australian retail industry. Greater Brisbane's CHERMSIDE DRIVE-IN CENTRE, the nation's first regional-class, post-war shopping precinct, started trading to the public on May 30.
Greater Sydney's TOP RYDE DRIVE-IN CENTRE, the first for that city and the second major post-war shopping complex in the Commonwealth, opened November 14. A retail revolution down under was underway!
Greater Brisbane's CHERMSIDE DRIVE-IN CENTRE was the first suburban-style shopping complex built outside North America. The open-air mall was situated 6 miles north of the city centre. Note: a smaller (non department store-anchored) shopping facility, the BELL STREET MALL, had opened in Melbourne, in 1956.
Photo from http://westfield.com
Photo from State Library of Queensland
Drawing from Regional Centres, Limited
The original TOP RYDE anchor was a Sydney-based A.J. Benjamin (which was rebranded by Grace Brothers in 1964). In the 2020s, TOP RYDE CITY spans 840,900 lettable square feet, with a tenant roster of 276.
Photo from http://www.ryde.nsw.gov.au
Drawing from the Westfield Development Corporation
Drawing from the Westfield Development Corporation
Originally encompassing 355,200 lettable square feet, and housing seventy-three shops, the open-air CHADSTONE "shopping township" was truly revolutionary. For several years thereafter, Aussie shopping facilities would be referred to as being "Chadstone-like" or "Chadstone-type."
Drawing from the Myer Emporium
With the open-air shopping centre now firmly established in Australia, the next logical step was to the fully-enclosed "pedestrian precinct." Canberra, Australia's capital, beat Sydney and Melbourne to the punch with the completion of its MONARO ["Muh-NAIR-oh"] SHOPPING MALL, which began trading to the public on March 6, 1963.
The MONARO SHOPPING MALL originally encompassed approximately 220,000 lettable square feet and housed sixty-one tenants. Billed as "A whole city block under one roof," the complex was also the nation's first 3-level shopping centre. It has been known as CANBERRA CENTRE since November 1989.
Photo from http://www.flickr.com / "Canberrahouse"
Developed by Sydney's Hammerson Group, WARRINGAH MALL encompassed 290,000 lettable square feet. It opened as Australia's second-largest shopping precinct (Greater Melbourne's CHADSTONE CENTRE being the largest).
In 1963, WARRINGAH MALL housed fifty shops and services. Located 7 miles north of the Sydney Central Business District, the open-air complex cost 6 million pounds to construct.
Drawing from The Hammerson Group
Photo from State Library of New South Wales
Not to be outdone by its southern sibling city, Sydney strived to build something bigger, better and -also- fully-enclosed and air-conditioned. ROSELANDS CENTRE, located 8.5 miles southwest of central Sydney, first traded to the public on October 12, 1965. It immediately trumped Melbourne's 5 year-old CHADSTONE CENTRE and assumed the distinction of largest retail hub in the Southern Hemisphere.
Sydneysiders were immediately smitten with their gargantuan ROSELANDS CENTRE, which outdid everything that had come before it. Developed and anchored by Sydney-based Grace Brothers, the 15 million pound merchandising mecca housed ninety stores and services. Its slogan..."A meeting place, A market place!"
Photo from National Archive of Australia / Image number: A1200 L52829
Melburnians were introduced to air-conditioned shopping with the dedication of NORTHLAND CENTRE. The first of Melbourne's three directionally-designated malls, it was followed by EASTLAND CENTRE (in October 1967) and SOUTHLAND CENTRE (in September 1968). The Myer Emporium planned for a WESTLAND mall in 1973, but it was never built.
Drawing from The Myer Emporium
A circa-1966 aerial view of the Harbour City's "incline mall." BURWOOD WESTFIELD SHOPPINGTOWN was built on a sloping site, which facilitated its rather unique design. Instead of elevators, its two shopping concourses were connected via ramps and a set of escalators.
Photo from the Sydney Morning Herald
One of -if not- the first open-air shopping precincts in Western Australia was dedicated on December 16, 1965. WESTGATE MALL, in Perth's southwestern suburbs, was anchored by a Cole's variety store and Perth-based Bairds department store, with twenty-five additional tenants. After several years in decline, the complex was demolished in 2020.
CAROUSEL CENTRE was Western Australia's original enclosed shopping mall. Situated in the southeastern suburbs of Perth, it first traded to the public on March 15, 1972. Major stores in the original complex were a Coles New World supermarket, Walsh's men's wear and Perth-based Boans department store. The complex, now known as WESTFIELD CAROUSEL, encompasses 1,181,800 lettable square feet and houses 362 stores and services.
Originating in Sydney in 1838, the David Jones' chain is noteworthy today for being the world's oldest department store still operating under its original name. By the mid-1980s, the mercantile, known colloquially as "D.J.'s," had expanded from its base of operations in New South Wales to stores in Queensland (Brisbane), Australian Capital Territory (Canberra), Victoria (Melbourne) and South Australia (Adelaide).
A Melburnian institution dating back to 1900, Myer Emporium expanded exponentially between 1961 and 1984. Chains such as Sydney's Farmer's, Adelaide's Marshall's, Western Australia's Boans and Queensland's Barry & Roberts were acquired. A merger with the owners of Melbourne-based Coles New World supermarkets was completed in March 1985. The Myer end of the conglomerate was sold to a consortium of US investors in March 2006.
Sydney's Farmer's chain acquired Australia's Western Stores in October 1960. In 1961, Farmer's became a division of Myer Emporium. Although a reference or two to "Myer-Farmer's" may be found in mid-1960s newspapers, the Farmer's chain continued to trade under its own banner until 1976, when stores were Myer-branded.
Another Sydneyside department store, Grace Brothers was founded in 1885. The chain was bought by Melbourne's Myer Emporium in July 1983. However, Myer continued to operate stores under the Grace Brothers banner for several years. All twenty-five locations officially became Myer operations on February 13, 2004.
This Sydney-based ladies' wear retailer first traded to the public in 1909. Mark Foy's expanded into the suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne in the 1960s but was in a state of decline by the late 1970s. The last store, in downtown Sydney, was shuttered in January 1980.
Colloquially known as "Woolies," this chain opened its first store -in Sydney- in December 1924. The retailer had no connection with the defunct North American 5 & 10 chain of the same name, although it was also a variety store operation. The first Woolworths supermarket opened in 1960. By the early 1990s, the Woolworths name was being used exclusively as a label for the chain's grocery stores. The variety store division had been gradually phased out.
BIG W
Big W was a name given to a new line of discount department stores operated by Woolworths, Limited. The first Big W -located in Tamworth, New South Wales- began trading to the public in 1964. The Big W brand was used to differentiate the new discount stores from the company's existing Woolworths variety stores and its burgeoning Woolworths supermarket division.
COLES NEW WORLD
Based in Greater Melbourne, Coles started out, in April 1914, as a variety store chain. By the late 1950s, the company was gravitating toward grocery retailing and several competing supermarket chains were acquired. In 1962, the Coles New World nameplate was devised, as a reflection of the then-emerging Space Age. The Myer Emporium merged with G.J. Coles & Coy, Limited in March 1985, forming Coles Myer, Limited. The New World reference was dropped from the Coles supermarket nameplate in 1991.
In 1968, Myer Emporium acquired the 42-year-old Lindsay's fabrics and furnishings chain. Fourteen stores were rebranded as Lindsay's Target. The nameplate was shortened to Target in March 1973. As mentioned, the Myer and Coles conglomerates merged 1985, forming Coles Myer, Limited. In November 2007, Perth's Westfarmers Group acquired the company, by then known as the Coles Group. Although the US-based Target Corporation and Target Australia share striking similarities, both attest that they are -and always have been- two separate and non-affiliated companies.
KMART
One year after Lindsay's Target first traded to the public, G.J. Coles & Coy established a joint venture with the US-based S.S. Kresge Company. The first Australian Kmart opened -in Burwood East, Victoria- in April 1969. Coles Myer, Limited established full ownership of the Australian Kmart operation in 1994. In November 2007, Perth's Westfarmers Group acquired the Coles conglomerate.
Now, scroll along as we visit four of Australia's earliest mall-type shopping complexes. The first section will cover Victoria's first mega mall...
The trademark of the first major shopping precinct in Greater Melbourne. At the time of its opening, the centre was said to "closely follow the American pattern in style, design and services." In fact, "Chaddy" was modeled after San Francisco's STONESTOWN CENTER.
Graphic from the Meyer Emporium
The Myer mallway entrance, on the northeast side of the 3-level store structure.
Photo from State Library of Victoria
The Upper Mall concourse in the original "Chaddy."
Photo from State Library of Victoria
A vintage view of the Lower Mall level, which was accessed from a set of escalators seen far in the background. This subterranean floor hosted services such as a Veterinary Clinic, Pets Parking Lot pet-minding centre, Children's Day Nursery child-minding centre and Kiddieland. This attraction included amusements such as fiberglass Thunderbird racing cars, swan rides and mini-helicopters.
Photo from State Library of Victoria
A layout of Melbourne's "compact city in the suburbs," which housed seventy-three tenant spaces. Its bi-level car park could accommodate up to 2,500 autos. At the time of this plan, CHADSTONE was located in the Malvern East suburb, in the City of Malvern local government area.
CHADSTONE CENTRE TENANTS 1960:
MYER EMPORIUM (with Strawberry Room Restaurant) / BUCKLEY & NUNN department store / FOY & GIBSON department store / ROCKMANS department store / G.J. COLES & COY variety store / JAMES McEWAN & COMPANY Hardware / PATERSONS Home Furnishings / S.E. DICKENS supermarket / Angus & Robertson books / Mrs. N.M. Bowyer, public stenographer / Bradman's Suburban Stores accessories / Brash's electrical / Brighter Homes-Smith & Walton Paints / Burton School of Motoring / Cann's ladies' wear / Chadstone Bistro / Chadstone Centre News Agency / Chadstone ladies' wear / Chadstone Liquor Centre / Chadstone Motor Parts / Children's Day Nursery child-minding centre / Coles & Girard opticians / Commercial Bank of Australia / Commonwealth Savings Bank / Thomas Cook & Son (Asia) travel agency / Countryside Kitchens cakes / Downyflake Food Corporation coffee shop / W.T Dyer Sea Foods / Edments Jewelry / Exotic Aquarium & Pet Supplies / Fletcher Jones & Staff ladies' & men's wear / Herald & Son advertising divisions / Herbert Adams cakes / Hilton's of Chadstone ladies' wear / Hospital Benefits Association of Victoria / Peter Issacson press office & stationery / A.G. Johnstone men's hairdresser / Kiddieland / K.A. Lee Home Furnishings / Lindsey & McKenzie drapers / London Baby Carriages baby furniture / Martin & Pleasance chemists (pharmacy) / G.F. Mason fruiterer / Maternity Faire maternity & children's wear / Kenneth McDowell rubber goods / McKenna's Junior Shoe Salon / Medical-Dental Centre / Melbourne Sports Depot sporting goods / Mercantile Mutual Insurance Company / Model Dairy milk bar & dairy / Naytura Cafe & Store health foods / Newman's Chocolates & Candies / Oggi (Chadstone) ladies' wear / Pets Parking Lot pet-minding centre / Portman's ladies' wear / Post Office / Progress Press press office & stationery / Prouds Jewelry / Public Benefit Shoes / Royena Nurseries / Saks the Florist / Sportsgirl ladies' wear / Spotless (Chadstone) dry cleaners / State Savings Bank of Australia / Sussan Lingerie & Sportswear / Sutton's Delicatessen / The Leviathan men's wear / The Myer Babywear Shop / The National Bank of Asia / Tim the Toyman / A.E. Vauhan Tatt's agency / Arthur J. Veall electrical / Wade's Chadstone Meats / R.H. Wagner & Sons photo supplies / George Waldrop men's wear / John Warlow Studios / J.B. Were & Son stock & sharebrokers / Williams The Shoemen / F.H. Wiltshire & Associates veterinary clinic
Photo from Historic Melbourne Pics / Ebay Postcard Collection
Melbourne's Myer Emporium, who built CHADSTONE, followed with NORTHLAND CENTRE. The first of three directionally-designated enclosed malls, it was dedicated in October 1966. The original complex contained seventy-three stores and services. Today, NORTHLAND CENTRE houses over 330, with a lettable area of 1,025,900 square feet.
Graphic from the Myer Emporium
Lastly, there was SOUTHLAND CENTRE, which was completed in September 1968. The Myer Emporium proposed a WESTLAND mall in 1973, but it was never built...at least by Myer. Another company developed a retail complex. It opened -as HIGHPOINT WEST CENTRE- in 1975. The WESTFIELD SOUTHLAND shopping precinct currently encompasses 1,390,400 lettable square feet, with a retail roster of over 400 shops.
Graphic from the Myer Emporium
DONCASTER WESTFIELD SHOPPINGTOWN was the first foray into the Melbourne market by Sydney's on-the-grow Westfield Development Corporation (today's Scentre Group). The fully-enclosed DONCASTER shopping precinct first traded to the public in September 1969. It was expanded in the late 1970s, early 1990s and early 2000s. Today, WESTFIELD DONCASTER encompasses 1,291,700 lettable square feet and contains over 400 shops and services.
Drawing from the Westfield Development Corporation
Photo from Wikipedia / "Raider2044"
A "Stage 30" expansion, known as Chadstone Place, opened between late 2008 and early 2009. This "outdoor-style" addition consisted of 1 and 2-level structures, with a single-level parking deck covering a building on its east end. Chadstone Place housed several exterior-entranced stores, a "Fresh Food Precinct," al fresco dining area and 4-storey office tower.
Photo from http://www.e-brochures.com.au / The Buchanon Group
A Woolworths supermarket, anchoring the new Chadstone Place addition, debuted in October 2008. The mega mall now featured three food stores; Woolworths, Aldi and the existing Coles. There was also a Colonial Fresh Markets fruit & produce store.
Photo from Wikipedia / "Alpha"