by Michelle Nichols & Jonathan Auld

Woolworths is an iconic name in Australian retail and has been operating in Australia for over 100 years. The first Woolworths store was established in Sydney in 1924 and opened in the old Imperial Arcade in Pitt Street. There is no connection to the American retail firm, instead the founders made use of the name as it was yet to be trademarked in Australia.

Originally it was called ‘Woolworths Stupendous Bargain Basement’ and the business was promoted as a ‘fixed price variety store’ offering inexpensive everyday merchandise, affordable for all to purchase. It was also among the first variety stores in Australia to use cash registers that issued printed receipts. The founders of the company were Percy Christmas, Stanley Chatterton, Cecil Scott Waine, George Creed and Ernest Williams.

The business thrived so additional stores were added to the chain, with new stores opening in Brisbane and Melbourne and by 1940, each Australian state boasted a store. Following World War 2, the majority of shopping was carried out at the local general stores with perishable groceries often delivered directly to the home, this included, milk, bread, fruit and vegetables.

In May 1956, Woolworths announced plans for a new store in Windsor, selecting a site at 149 George Street. Newspaper reports noted that the building would incorporate ‘the latest American trends in shop fronts’ including larger display windows and a more open entrance design. Customers were promised modern chrome display fittings, blonde-wood counters and fluorescent lighting to enhance the shopping experience.

The store was officially opened, seventy years ago on 7 June 1956 as a Woolworths Variety Store. It opened with a trading area of 355 square metres with flat top serviced counters and a huge crowd waiting outside for the doors to open.

On the opening day, the daily takings were £3,107 at a time when an average day’s taking in a suburban retail shop was approximately £15-£30 while a busy department store, daily takings surpassed £200. A full-time male employee earnt an average £19 per week, while a female employee, earnt about £14. Customers regularly shopped several times a week in those days, purchasing a few items at a time. A range of variety and household items were available for sale including clothing, sweets plus beauty products. Homewares with kitchen utensils, pots, pans, some hardware and sewing supplies.

In 1964, thieves broke into the Woolworth’s store and stole Top of Form

In 1964£330 worth of goods. They entered the store through the roof and removed a sheet of fibro and then they cut through mesh, entering a storeroom. Cigarettes, stockings, men’s underwear were purloined from the front of the store.

Almost 12 months later, thieves returned to the store and made an even bigger haul. This time the goods had an estimated worth of at least £1,250. Nearly all of the counters were stripped of merchandise and Mrs Bushell, the store manager alleged that ‘all the expensive lines, such as cigarettes, razor blades, women’s pyjamas, underwear and corsetry, men’s clothing and tools’ had been taken from the counters and packed into approximately twenty large suitcases. The thieves entered through the roof, gaining entrance through the ceiling.

Around this time, the first Big W store opened in Newcastle in 1964. By the late 1970s, the Big W brand was revived and these stores operated as a version of a discount department store, similar to how they function today.  The flat top serviced counters were eventually replaced by checkouts.

In the late sixties Woolworths planned to expand and build a supermarket in George Street near Suffolk Street but planning laws around parking jeopardised the development and it was shelved.

During the 1990s, the store was rebranded to Crazy Prices and moved to 173 George Street, still selling general variety merchandise but eventually closed at this site. Richmond Marketplace opened in 1994 with a Big W along with a Woolworths Supermarket selling groceries. In 2000 Windsor Town Shopping Centre was established in Kable Street with a Woolworths Supermarket.

MAIN PHOTO: Opening day crowds – June 1956. All photos courtesy of the Woolworths Heritage Centre.

Photos: (L) Woolworths Variety Store – 1970s. (R) Staff outside with Acting Manager R. Davidson – June 1956.