The Boronia “Super” Market
Modernity comes to Boronia.
Did you know that before the mall, way back in 1954, Boronia had a Market? In fact, it was called a super-market. Not like we have these days, but the precursor to them. The market was designed on the relatively new American concept, the idea of a place where all normal household necessities can be bought under one roof.
It was an open-plan building that had twenty-plus stalls, which were in effect self-contained shops. Included in the main hall, which was described as the shopping centre, were shops ranging from a florist and garden supplies to a cosmetic bar.
There
was a self -service grocery, footwear, fruit and vegetables, toys and electrical
goods, hardware, men's and women's clothing, and a chemist.
It
was intended so that nearly all the normal household shopping could be done there.
A
pets' food store was situated at the rear of the hall, away from the rest of the stalls, as well as
pens for the sale of live poultry which could be washed down without affecting
the traders inside.
Another feature of the market was an auction room fronting the street and adjoining the main hall. It included the usual list of auction room goods such as second-hand furniture, floor coverings, cycles, and cars, and was to be a feature on Wednesdays & Fridays. The rest of the week it was a kitchen showroom and the markets administration.
These two buildings were separated by the arcade that
led straight to the railway station, which was immediately behind the premises.
Other innovative ideas for the market hall included a specifically designed entry that could open its five-metre-wide frontage to allow trucks in for deliveries for the merchants. The middle stalls were all on wheels so they could be pushed to the side to accommodate the vehicles. Specially designed louvre skylights to help with ventilation and rows of refrigeration equipment, including deep freezers.
Early reports had the market set to
open in October 1953, with an article in the August 27th 1953 edition of the Mountain District Free
Press giving a rather comprehensive and detailed description of the market
and its many features.
The market was the brain child of
George Saville, who proudly declared that he and his parents were Boronia-born
and that the suburb desperately needed something like his market. It took owner
Saville four years to bring the
project to fruition, and he had great plans for the premises. One local paper
reported the delays with a humorous observation that the signwriter hired to
paint a sign for a stationery stall outside the front of the market, painted it
as “STATIONARY”.
Even though reports were predicting a late
Spring opening, the Market did not open until nearly a year later on June 10th
1954.
Saville tried many ways to
promote his venue after opening; recorded items include a visit by American
wrestler Chief Little Wolf. Another was to have professional models display the
latest fashions and help at the stalls. Saville was also community-minded and
instructed all shopkeepers to give a 10-15% discount on all goods sold to
pensioners. He also ran two taxi trucks to ferry people to the store, as well
as buying land on the corner of Boronia Road and Station Street, for parking purposes.
It is a pity there are very few images of the market from outside or within. More importantly, what happened to it?
An odd failure in a
time of growth.
Last issue we explored the Boronia George
Saville’s “supermarket”; this part we ask and try to answer how such an
innovative business opened and then just disappeared from the collective memory
of the area. A time that was well documented as a crucial expansion of the
suburb's main shopping strip. Let's have a look.
After the devastating train crossing accident that resulted in nine deaths and fourteen injured, warning lights were finally installed at the crossing intersection. The intersection also had traffic islands installed, and major resurfacing of roads began. According to the Ferntree Gully & District Times, this was the catalyst for one of the major redevelopments in Boronia since the Chandler family cleared land for their flower farm 80 years earlier.
In the two years that followed the
crossing accident and placement of the warning lights, 26 sites were auctioned off
in the strip for future retail shops, and building started in earnest.
Falconers General Store relocated and traded by 1953 next to Maguire's garage; this would have
been Saville’s market’s major competition. The Ferntree Gully & District
Times built their new offices and printing press at what is now Ballistyx.
The State school, which was notorious
for being overcrowded, was being relocated to a new five-hectare site 300 metres
east on Rangeview Road. All this was happening during the same timeframe. Within
a week of the market beginning trading, a brand new modern Pharmacy opened a
week later on the corner of Dorset & Boronia in a new building with other
smaller shops where Falconers once traded.
By the end of the 1950s, many new
shops were built, Maguires garage was demolished, and a new service station was
relocated across the road, where the Commonwealth Bank is today.
Sadly, it would not seem so for the
new Market, which seems to have stopped trading before the end of the 1950s. It
seems Mr Saville overextended himself with the massive investment that included
all buildings, concreted pens and yards at the rear, innovative entry &
egress and ventilation, independent power supply and purchase of the parking
lot. He was declared bankrupt in Mid 1955. In its relatively short time as an operating
business, the bankruptcy meant all the chattels would need to be sold to pay
back creditors or repossessed. A small time frame of operation leaves little
legacy to be remembered.
As for George Saville, he did reappear
and manage to apply for and receive his auctioner licence in 1959.
The original buildings still stand there today, though they have been totally renovated and new stores built within their framework. The arcade still remains, and the original brick wall that stands next to the new park where the Youth Club once stood. A brief oddity in Boronia’s retail history.
References
Boronia
& its Deathtrap Crossing Ray Peace KHS
Mountain
District Free Press 29/5/1953, 8/6/1954,
12/8/1954
Ferntree
Gully & District Times 26 /11/1953, 10 & 17/6/1954
Women's
Weekly circa 1954
Government
Gazette 29/10/1959
Originally published in BBCN 258+259
