The future of David Jones’ landmark Elizabeth Street store in Sydney has been left uncertain, prompting fears that the department store’s long-standing presence could mark the end of an era.
For generations of Australian shoppers, the store was far more than a place to buy clothes and household goods. It was an institution, particularly for families travelling to Sydney from the regions for an annual shopping expedition.
Journalist and columnist Peter FitzSimons recalled visiting the store as a child with his mother and siblings after travelling from Peats Ridge. The family would leave their Holden station wagon at a relative’s home in Wahroonga before taking the train to Town Hall.
Inside David Jones, the young FitzSimons encountered cool marble floors, wooden escalators and lifts operated by attendants in peaked caps and crimson uniforms. Staff would announce each floor as the lift stopped, including children’s clothing, toys, kitchen goods and fashion.
His mother would spend hours moving between departments, buying clothes and shoes for a family of eight. On one occasion, after a refrigerator failed to work properly, the store replaced it without question – an experience that reinforced its reputation in the family as a trusted institution.
Purchases could also be charged to a David Jones account, using a card bearing his mother’s name and the store’s insignia. For a child, the arrangement seemed almost magical.
The visits were carefully organised around the needs of the family. When the children became restless, they could be taken to watch newsreels at the State Theatrette, while lunch was bought more cheaply at a milk bar opposite St James station rather than in the store’s cafeteria or restaurant.
David Jones also formed part of the wider fabric of city life. Crowds gathered inside the Sydney store to watch the Apollo 11 moon landing in July 1969, while mothers could use the Women’s Amenities Centre and crèche rooms in Hyde Park during shopping trips.
David Jones and the end of an era
FitzSimons said he had visited the flagship store only three times during more than three decades of married life, including once to see Santa Claus. He suggested that online shopping had become easier and that David Jones no longer occupied the same distinctive position among a small group of major department stores.
Instead, he described it as an old oak surrounded by a dense forest of specialised retailers. The Elizabeth Street store’s future remains unresolved, but its uncertain outlook has revived memories of the central role David Jones once played in Australian shopping and family life.
