35 Gawler St, Bell’s Drapery (TownMed)
The first shop to operate from this site was the Mount Barker Boot and Shoe Depot, opened in 1854 by London-born William Barker (1802-1873, unrelated to William Barker who ran the drapery at 55-57 Gawler Street). He advertised an “immense variety of ready and well-made Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Boots, Shoes, and Slippers of the best workmanship and material, at prices defying all competition,” plus “clogs of every description.”
Unfortunately his enterprise did not thrive. Barker advertised the “large shop with four rooms” for lease in December, 1856 and moved to Adelaide. The property was not sold until after his death in 1873 and it is unclear how it was used in the meantime, but the new owner was John Paltridge (1831-1917). Records show that it was leased by his brother-in-law, saddler Roderick McKenzie (1829-1890). It is likely that this is where McKenzie ran his saddlery with his wife, Mary (1839-1931). They also conducted a general store-cum-bakery on the side.
Upon McKenzie’s death, Mary moved her growing drapery business up the road to the premises of the recently defunct Commercial Bank (see 23-23a Gawler St), but the ex-saddlery stayed in Paltridge hands for more than a decade. It housed offices for John Paltridge’s business as a land agent, valuer and auctioneer. Upon John’s retirement he passed his firm on to his sons Harry (1855-1910) and Frederick (1861-1902). Finally, after Fred’s death in 1902, the site was sold again, and this time there were some major changes.
In towns such as Mount Barker, the earliest shops had an agricultural and artisanal focus – tinsmiths, blacksmiths, carpenters, ironmongers, bootmakers, saddlers, seed stores, etc. – because they were servicing an agricultural population. Even the chemists carried veterinary supplies. But as towns grew up around their main streets, general stores were supplanted by grocers, fruiterers and tailors, and then followed the draperies.
These days we think of draperies in relation to curtain material, but in the nineteenth century a drapery was a commercial outlet for everything to do with home interiors. They were shops that essentially catered to female consumers, offering a plethora of domestically-related items including clothing material, crockery, kitchen essentials, interior furnishings and luxury goods. With their diversified range of products, they offered women a one-destination shopping experience, sometimes made more attractive by “refreshment house” options.
The purchaser of this site was district-wide company David Bell & Co. Scottish-born David Bell (1835-1908) had apprenticed at a drapery in Adelaide before starting up his own shop in Strathalbyn in 1867. By the 1890s he had built up a prosperous drapery business that was “modern” not just in the range and quality of its merchandise but also in its expansionist business structure: it had branches in Strathalbyn, Tailem Bend, Victor Harbor and Murray Bridge. In 1902 it acquired several existing Mount Barker draperies, including Mary McKenzie’s drapery and millinery, A.H. Stephenson’s drapery and grocery, and R.W.S. Dainty’s grocery and bakery, before securing the Paltridge site.
In 1910, the Mount Barker Courier announced that,
For some time past David Bell and Co., Ltd., the well-known household providores, have been preparing plans for the erection of a commodious and up-to-date business establishment at Mount Barker. The corner block in Gawler-street which has been known for a great many years as “Paltridge’s” has been secured as the site for the building, and the familiar offices, &c. there now are being demolished to make way for the new structure.
A large new emporium, of “handsome and striking appearance” opened in April 1911. It anticipated the twentieth-century department store in its design and layout: The Courier noted that, “while it is all under one roof there are a number of apartments for the different branches of the business transacted.” The shop sold millinery, haberdashery, underwear, hosiery, dress goods, Manchester, crockery, groceries, baked goods (produced on site), ironmongery, and linoleums (the latest thing).
A curious feature of the interior was the cutting-edge “Lamson cash railway system,” in which hollow wooden balls rocketed around ceiling-mounted tracks, carrying payments, change and receipts: “the flight of the money-bearing balls along the aerial wires [proves] a great time-saver to all and an interesting novelty for the youngsters.” All finances were transacted in a central office of wood and glass, which accommodated the cashier, clerk and manager.
In 1936 the store was acquired by a private company headed by Kenneth David Bell (1897-1967) a locally based grandson of David Bell, who also bought the Barker’s Drapery (55-57 Gawler Street). In both cases, he kept the businesses operating under their old familiar names. Subsequently, after K.D. Bell’s death, the shop became successively Boyd’s Drapery store (under Melbourne man David Boyd), a clothing store called The Daly Wardrobe, and a Goodwill charity store, before entering its most recent phase as a medical clinic.
A heritage survey carried out in 2004 found that “Although the parapet and verandah were altered later in the 20th century, the store retains several significant features, especially the custom-designed metal trusses, the barrel-vaulted ceiling and projecting curved-top roof vents.” The picture below shows the shop in its heyday under David Bell & Co., c. 1920.
See also:
https://mtbarkernationaltrust.org.au/history-post/paltridge-family/
https://mtbarkernationaltrust.org.au/history-post/roderick-mckenzie/
