Bright and Hitchcocks was a department store

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...

 in Geelong, Victoria

Geelong, Victoria

Geelong is a port city located on Corio Bay and the Barwon River, in the state of Victoria, Australia, south-west of the state capital; Melbourne. It is the second most populated city in Victoria and the fifth most populated non-capital city in Australia...

. It existed at the same site between 1855 and 1979. The building remains today on the south-east corner of Moorabool and Little Malop Streets in central Geelong.

Beginnings

The Bright and Hitchcocks store had its origins in two stores, one run by the Hitchcock brothers in Yarra Street, and the other by William Bright in Moorabool Street. The two businesses merged in 1855, and their store opened under the "Bright and Company" name on the south-east corner of Moorabool and Little Malop Streets. The name "Bright and Hitchcocks" was adopted in 1861, even though Bright retired in 1865. Son of one of the founding brothers, Howard Hitchcock

Howard Hitchcock

For the painter see D. Howard HitchcockHoward Hitchcock was mayor of the City of Geelong in Victoria, Australia from 1917 to 1922, and a member of the Victorian Legislative Council from 1925 until 1931...

, was the last of the family to be involved with the store, retiring in 1927.

Changes

Bright and Hitchcocks became a public company in 1950 with almost 600 shareholders. 1959 saw the company purchased by Foy and Gibsons Ltd, who then merged with Cox Brothers.

Cox Brothers ran into financial problems in 1966, and in March 1968 saw the store sold to new owners, who changed the name to "Brights". It was sold again in January 1969 to Sydney based Burns Philp and Co, who renamed the store to "Mates". The final sale was in 1976 when Chas Moore took over the lease, changing the name again, this time to "Moores".

Closure

1979 saw Moores closed. The building was divided into a number of smaller stores at street level. The past decade has seen the upper floors empty. The basement was occupied by a Spotlight fabric store until 2005. The exterior of the building underwent a repaint and minor refurbishment in 2006.

Images

• Bright & Hitchcock's Store 1939