Images from Sydney’s Powerhouse museum

exhibition: What’s in Store?:

Shopping in Australia 1880-1930This slide show was made for educational purposes only.

Settlement: Shopping in the late 19th

century

Settlement: Shopping in the late 19th centuryGeneral stores are the

oldest, and most enduring, form of retailing in Australia. Wherever there was a settlement, there was a general store with a variety of goods ‘from sugar candy, to potted anchovies; from East India pickles to Bass’s pale ale; from ankle jack boots to a pair of stays.’

The Walhalla store was built over 100 years ago and is still in business today.

Settlement: Shopping in the late 19th century

The Wongs were a pioneering Chinese-Australian family. They opened their first shop in the goldfields town of Tuena in 1864. Then they ran a small shop on their grazing property near Crookwell, New South Wales, from the late 1870s to 1916.

Mr Wong Sat, 1904.

Settlement: Shopping in the late 19th century

Both Amelia Hackney and Wong Sat arrived in Australia during the gold rush of the 1850s. Amelia had come with her family from Manchester, England. Sat came from southern China. Although it was common for European women to buy from Chinese traders, it was less common for them to marry. However, despite this, Sat and Amelia married and raised a family.

Although there was racism towards the Chinese, the Wongs were respected members of their community.

Mr Wong Sat, 1904.

Settlement: Shopping in the late 19th century

The store carried a typically wide range of goods catering to the needs of a rural community. Like other small general storekeepers, the Wongs provided more than just groceries. They sold dress materials, tools, toys and paper goods, and their shop was a meeting place for the community.

General stores sold everything, from crayons made in USA to tea

from China.

Settlement: Shopping in the late 19th century

This photograph was probably taken by Sat and Amelia’s son Henry in about 1907, it shows the store’s rural setting. The store is the second building from the right.

Settlement: Shopping in the late 19th century

Many goods had to be imported from overseas. This photo shows tea being packed in China in the late 1800s.

In 1913, half of Australia’s imports came from Great Britain.

Settlement: Shopping in the late 19th century

This wagon belonged to Sat and Amelia and was used to pick up goods and make deliveries from the 1880s to 1916.

Settlement: Shopping in the late 19th century

The cash register was invented in America in 1879.

The register allows reliable and efficient cash transactions.

This one dates from 1900.

Settlement: Shopping in the late 19th century

Department Stores Australian cities grew

because of the gold rush and wealth from wool, and people had money to spend. Large department stores and shopping arcades were built.

David Jones’ George Street store in Sydney was built in 1887.

The Sydney Arcade, built in 1881, was one of the first shopping arcades in Sydney.

Settlement: Shopping in the late 19th century

Customers were served at the counter. There was no self-service.

Chynoweth Brothers Store. (Photo: Mitchell Library, State Library of

NSW.)

Settlement: Shopping in the late 19th century

1875 The aerial cash railway system, also known as ‘flying foxes’, was patented in the USA.

The technology allowed shop assistants to stay at the point-of- sale and also centralised control of cash transactions.

The Wongs did not need one of these in their small shop.This photo is from a

display of a shop in the 1920s.

Settlement: Shopping in the late 19th century

This window display was produced by the Sydney firm O’Brien’s Publicity Services. It was an advert for Bushell’s tea.

It shows an Australian family in their house, looking at the place the tea comes from.

This advert is from about 1920 - much later than the period we are learning about.

Timeline #11788 Settlement at Sydney Cove. Governor

Phillip set up the commissariat (comm-iss-air-ee-at), a government store that supplied essential provisions to the colony.

Early 1800s Population in the colony increased. There was a regular Saturday produce market.

1817 Governor Macquarie established a regular currency and bank. Exchange through bartering or bank drafts from London was increasingly replaced by cash.

1841 Gas lighting was installed along Sydney streets. Trading after dark and window shopping became possible.

Timeline #2 1850s Clipper ships were

developed. They were well-designed, streamlined and very swift sailing ships which cut up to four months off the London to Sydney sailing time with help from the Roaring 40s trade winds.

Sailors took the ‘Great circle’ route that allowed for the China trade in tea and silk and included the eastern coast of Australia on their route. They brought migrants from Great Britain, Europe, and China to the goldfields and the cities; and they picked up cargoes of wool, wheat, and a wealth of minerals.

Timeline #21852-8 There was a shortage of currency

because of the gold rushes and population increases. Traders used their own tokens as small change and as a form of advertising — so theBritish government set up the Sydney Mint in 1854.

1854 Sheets of thick and clear glass, known as plate-glass, became available. It was first installed in Farmer’s department store in Sydney and used for window display and dressing.

Timeline #3 (Transport) 1853.

Cobb and Co started their coach service, which ran until 1924 .

This picture is from Sovereign Hill, Ballarat, Victoria. Click on the picture to find out more

about Cobb and Co in Australia.

Timeline #3 (Transport) 1855 The first steam

passenger train in NSW started between Sydney and Parramatta. It connected the country and the city and allowed people to get around.

1876 The Sydney–Parramatta line was extended to Bathurst through the Blue Mountains.

The Zigzag railway operated in NSW between 1870 and 1910.

Timeline #3 (Transport) In the 1860s, the horse

bus became a popular form of public transport.

This Cobb and Co horse bus, licensed to carry 25 passengers, operated in Brisbane. 12 passengers sat inside the bus, 12 on the open roof seats and one beside the driver. This vehicle measures 3.8 m in length and stands 3 m high. It was pulled by two horses.

How did the Wongs cope in an emergency?

A permanent doctor’s practice was not set up until 1889 in Crookwell, some 30 km away from Bolong, at least a full day’s round trip.

Until then medical help was a long way away. Try the interactive to find out more.