Boans
Encyclopedia
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
between 1895 and 1986. The store was founded by Harry Boan
Harry Boan
Henry Boan was an Australian businessman and politician, who was best known for establishing the Boans department store in Perth, Western Australia....
and his brother Benjamin who both came to Perth in 1895 from Broken Hill in western New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. Harry and another brother, Ernest, had previously established a successful drapery known as 'Boan Bros. Ltd.' in that town.
City store
The brothers arrived in Perth in mid 1895 when Harry was 34, and purchased two quarter-acre blocks facing Wellington Street and the Perth railway stationPerth railway station
Perth Station including Perth Underground is the largest railway station in Perth, Western Australia, and functions as an interchange between the Transperth Trains Armadale / Thornlie, Fremantle, Joondalup, Mandurah and Midland railway lines, as well as the Transwa Australind.-History:The Victorian...
, at the edge of a potato swamp. The properties ("V.7-8") were purchased from W.B. Woods & Co, at a price of £42 per foot of street frontage. They borrowed £62,000 and within four months, despite acute labour shortages, had built, stocked and opened a single-storey emporium
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
on the site and named it 'Boan Bros.'. The store opened on 7 November 1895 with spectacular results, almost selling out by the end of the first day of trading. The original buildings were described as a single store which ran from Wellington Street through to Murray Street and appeared as "a line of iron shops".
In 1901, Benjamin died and Harry assumed sole ownership. Harry purchased adjoining land which spanned the block between Wellington and Murray Streets, near Forrest Place. The business was restructured to become a limited company in 1912 and the name was changed to Boans Ltd. In the same year, the original buildings were demolished and rebuilt as a single building between Murray and Wellington Streets.
Over time, the store became the largest private employer in Western Australia
In late 1929 Harry Boan handed control of the Boans store to his son Frank Boan who had been living in England with his mother since 1913.
Like similar businesses - Boans Limited had a Mail order catalogue issued from the late 1930s which continued into the 1950s.
The Boans department store in Wellington Street Perth was subject to a major fire in 1979, which closed the store for some weeks. The store reopened, prior to its closure in 1986 when it was sold to Coles Myer Ltd to make way for the new Forrest Chase Myer complex. This was later considered a bizarre coincidence, as the Boans department store in Morley was destroyed by fire in 1986. The Morley complex was later rebuilt, housing a Myer department store.
East Perth Furniture Factory
In about 1910 Boans opened a furniture factory in East PerthEast Perth, Western Australia
East Perth is an inner suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located next to the Perth CBD.Primarily an industrial area in the early twentieth century, it was the location of the East Perth gas works, East Perth Power Station , the East Perth railway yard, and East Perth engine sheds.A considerable...
to service the shop. It produced bedroom furniture, including mattresses, dining and kitchen furniture. There was also a cane-ware and upholstery section. Imported furniture was also held there.
After World War II, the factory would also house a bakery and butchery, where smallgoods were manufactured. Between 30 and 40 vehicles operated out of the receivals and despatch section which also included garaging and mechanical services.
After the Perth store closed, the building fell into disrepair for some years but in 1996 was assessed by the Heritage Council of Western Australia
Heritage Council of Western Australia
The Heritage Council of Western Australia is the Government of Western Australia agency created to identify, conserve and promote places of cultural heritage significance in the state.It was created under the Heritage of Western Australia Act...
as having historic, aesthetic and social value. As part of the redevelopment of the area by the East Perth Redevelopment Authority, the buildings have now been transformed into upmarket housing and office accommodation.
The site is bounded by Brown, Glyde and Saunders Streets and the building retains the prominent name of Boans painted on its exterior.
Suburban stores
These included:
- Waverley -- CanningtonCannington, Western AustraliaCannington is a southern suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Canning.-History:Cannington's name derives from the Canning River, which forms part of the southwestern boundary of the suburb...
. The first suburban branch.http://rotarycannington.com.au/about.html - MorleyMorley, Western AustraliaMorley is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, situated approximately northeast of Perth's central business district within the City of Bayswater local government area. It contains the Centro Galleria, Perth's second-largest commercial shopping centre, constructed in 1994. The Morley bus station...
. Opened 1961, destroyed by a fire in 1986. Site since redeveloped as Centro GalleriaCentro GalleriaCentro Galleria is a super-regional shopping centre located in Morley, Western Australia, about northeast of Perth's central business district. The Galleria is the second largest retail centre in Perth...
http://www.bayswater.wa.gov.au/scripts/viewarticle.asp?NID=530 - InnalooInnaloo, Western AustraliaInnaloo is a suburb of Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, and it is located 9 km from Perth's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stirling....
- Garden City -- BooragoonBooragoon, Western AustraliaBooragoon is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia located within the City of Melville.Booragoon is the aboriginal name for the lower reaches of the Canning River....
- Peppermint Grove This store site was later acquired by Harris ScarfeHarris ScarfeHarris Scarfe Department Stores was founded in Adelaide, South Australia in 1849. At its peak, Adelaide was home to several major South Australian department stores , of which Harris Scarfe is the sole...
(in 1996) and was the foundation Harris Scarfe Department Store in Western Australia. The store continued trading as a Harris Scarfe store until 2001. - Melville Plaza, Canning Highway
- Medina Shopping Centre, then Kwinana Hub
- Karrinyup
- Fremantle (the Myer store was rebadged as Boans for two years between 1986-1988. Myer had bought out Boans and had intended on using the Boans rather than Myer name on its WA stores).
Country stores
Boans operated department stores in regional areas. When Myer acquired Boans, these stores were sold.The stores were located at:
- AlbanyAlbany, Western AustraliaAlbany is a port city in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, some 418 km SE of Perth, the state capital. As of 2009, Albany's population was estimated at 33,600, making it the 6th-largest city in the state....
- BunburyBunbury, Western AustraliaThe port city of Bunbury is the third largest city in Western Australia after the State Capital Perth and Mandurah. It is situated south of Perth's central business district...
- Geraldton
Closure
Myer Emporium (now Coles GroupColes Group
Coles Group Limited was an Australian public company that operated numerous retail chains. It was Australia's second-largest retailer, behind Woolworths Limited...
) purchased the business in 1985 and the Boans city store closed its doors for the last time on 12 April 1986 so that a redevelopment into a larger department store could take place- The development became known as Forrest Chase with Myer as the anchor retailer.
Ross’s Sales & Auctions held an on-site sale which cleared the entire building including many fixtures and fittings such as the jarrah staircases and a Beale
Beale Piano
-Establishment of piano importing business:Octavius Beale established a business to import pianos and sewing machines in Sydney in 1884. He imported German upright pianos, of which a few survive today - these are known as "Hapsburg Beale"...
Baby Grand piano "in-situ on the fourth floor". These items are now occasionally seen in refurbished and new buildings around Perth.
Myer said in 1986 that they would retain the Boans name and promptly rebadged the Myer city store at Murray and William Sts (to be used as the city base until Forrest Chase was ready) and any Myer suburban stores with the Boans name. However, Myer management changed their mind in 1988 when the Forrest Chase building was nearing completion so that they could centralise all advertising and eliminate cost duplication. The Boans name was phased out over several weeks.
In 1989, Myer opened on the former Boans site with a new and larger store carrying through to Forrest Place. The suburban stores were converted to 'Myer' badging.
Boans country stores
MyerMyer
Myer is Australia's largest department store chain, retailing a broad range of merchandise including women's, men's and children's clothing, footwear and accessories; cosmetics and fragrance; homewares; electrical; furniture and bedding; toys; books and stationery; food and confectionery; and...
sold the country stores situated at Albany
Albany, Western Australia
Albany is a port city in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, some 418 km SE of Perth, the state capital. As of 2009, Albany's population was estimated at 33,600, making it the 6th-largest city in the state....
, Bunbury
Bunbury, Western Australia
The port city of Bunbury is the third largest city in Western Australia after the State Capital Perth and Mandurah. It is situated south of Perth's central business district...
and Geraldton to Geoffrey Bingemann, who was a director of Boans prior to the Myer acquisition of the Boans business.
Mr Bingemann rebadged these stores as Stirlings Department Stores, and he operated this business as a regional chain until 1996, when Harris Scarfe
Harris Scarfe
Harris Scarfe Department Stores was founded in Adelaide, South Australia in 1849. At its peak, Adelaide was home to several major South Australian department stores , of which Harris Scarfe is the sole...
acquired the business and they became Harris Scarfe stores. Harris Scarfe continued trading until 2001.