Thomas Wardle
Encyclopedia
Sir Thomas Edward Wardle (born 1912 in West Leederville, Western Australia
, died in 1977) was a businessman and supermarket
proprietor from Western Australia. He was best known for his 'Tom the Cheap' supermarket chain as well as revolutionising grocery shopping in the state.
Wardle was a popular Lord Mayor of Perth from 1967 to 1972.
, Katanning
and Tambellup
and in Perth at Thomas Street School
and Perth Boys School
.
His mother died while he was in high school and in 1927 at the age of 15 Wardle started his working career at the National Bank
. He eventually tired of the routine of clerical work and left four years later in 1931 to work as a farm labourer during the Great Depression
. During this time a romance with his sister's Swedish-born
friend Hulda Olson blossomed and after a two-year engagement they were married on 31 August 1940. Wardle joined the Citizens Military Force
and in 1942 enlisted for overseas service, leaving his wife and newly born daughter Dianne behind with his parents-in-law. He was discharged from the army in early 1946 as a Staff Sergeant
after having seen action against the Japanese in an anti-aircraft
unit in New Guinea
and Malaya
.
Tom and Hulda opened a corner-store grocery in 1946 in rented premises in Fitzgerald Street, North Perth
steadily building the business and good will. They managed to purchase the property in 1952. Their second child Geoffrey was born the same year.
While holidaying in Sweden with his wife in 1955, Wardle observed developments in northern European supermarket retailing which was a move away from shop-counter service to a system which allowed shoppers to browse aisles of produce at their own leisure. He also saw greater competition between retailers, unlike the resale price maintenance regime which seemed to exist in Australia. He later spoke of the mark-ups from local supermarket chains such as Freecorns, Charlie Carters and Tom Wills:
as opposed to the standard 25% from his competitors. Old and new customers soon flocked to the store, attracted by his shop-wide discounts which undercut his opposition.
High turnover returned good profits and soon Wardle embarked on a dramatic and highly successful expansion programme. He opened his second store in Wembley
in late 1957 and others in Scarborough
, Bedford Park
, Osborne Park
and Mount Lawley
in 1958. He opened country stores in Geraldton
and Kalgoorlie
in 1960.
The rapidly expanding chain was initially boycotted by the supplier and large grocery cartels, and he often had to bring produce from interstate and purchase from other grocers. Despite the difficulties, the innovative marketing proved highly successful and the expansion continued at a phenomenal rate: by December 1961 there were 39 metropolitan Perth stores as well as seven country stores. He had a staff of 300 and a turnover of £3,500,000 per annum. Soon after four stores in South Australia opened and one in Mentone, Victoria
. The South Australian stores were a joint venture with a Mr. Fairthorn who owned 49% of the chain in that state.
By June 1965 he had 90 Western Australian stores, 24 in South Australia, 14 in Melbourne and 2 in Sydney. Total annual turnover exceeded £14.5 million and net profit in Western Australia alone was more than £325,000 per annum. In addition, he operated six "Tom's Other Stores" which sold electrical appliances, drapery, clothing and furniture. Wardle was now the fourth largest grocery retailer in Australia, behind Woolworths, Coles
and Moran & Cato
. Unlike many of the larger chains however, most of Tom the Cheap stores (with the exception of the South Australian company) were owned by the family company T.E. Wardle Pty Ltd. Until 1963, all stores were rented rather than in purchased premises.
Expansion continued and by 1969 he had 185 stores across Australia and turnover was in excess of £200 million per annum. In 1971 he acquired the John Cade stores, thus making a 208 store-strong retail empire which was barely 15-years-old.
Between October 1962 and May 1974, Wardle published Tom's Weekly in Perth, a free Saturday newspaper with light local news stories interspersed with advertising specials from his stores. Between 20 January 1973 and 11 May 1974 it was distributed with the Weekend News. Geoffrey Wardle was editor in later editions.
in 1965 for £500,000 which he opened as a "Tom's Other Store", together with other sites in South Perth
and Mount Hawthorn
. He also bought the Capitol Theatre (10 William Street, designed by George Temple Poole and opened in 1929) in 1966 which was at that time the main live concert venue in Perth and home of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra
.
In 1967 he ran for election of Lord Mayor of Perth following the sudden death of Charles Veryard
. Wardle stated that he "... wanted to give the people something in return for what they have done for me in business." A complete newcomer to public office, he won the election comfortably with 28,068 votes against his main rival—Sir Frank Ledger's 19,339 votes. His campaign cost $25,000 and was run by the flamboyant Joan Watters. Wardle's mayoral reign happened during a period of transformation of the face of the city, with the state's resource development booming which was feeding city property development. Wardle is said to have liaised well with premiers
from both sides of politics in David Brand
and John Tonkin
.
The following year he sold the Capitol to make way for its demolition and construction of a car park and office block. He gifted the profit from the sale to the City of Perth
to assist in the construction of the city's long-awaited Perth Concert Hall—this was finally constructed with great encouragement from Wardle, between 1971 and 1973. The Wardle Room in the Concert Hall is named in his honour. In 1967, he had been an inaugural board member of the Western Australian Opera Company and generously provided the company with a Hay Street office suite.
The government of Sir Charles Court
decided to sell Dirk Hartog Island
in 1968, which had until then been operated under a pastoral lease for sheep and wool production. Wardle argued that the island should be kept by the government as a nature reserve. The suggestion was declined and so, the now immensely wealthy Wardle bought it for his own use as a private retreat for his family, substantially de-stocking the large sheep flock over several years.
Wardle was the state's best known philanthropist. He gave away $200,000 in 1969-70 alone, and Stannage (1979) suggests he made bequests in excess of $1,000,000 during his lifetime, all from his personal account. Some of these included:
He made countless other gifts, to schools, hospitals, women's organisations and sporting bodies.
Appointments were also numerous. These included a lay directorship of the Australian Neurological Foundation, chairmanship of the Keep Australia Beautiful Council, chairmanship of the Festival of Perth Committee for 1974, chairmanship of the Aboriginal Cultural Material Committee, trusteeship of the Western Australian Museum
, governorship of the Western Australia Opera Company
, membership of the Australian National Airlines Commission and membership of the Australian government's Aboriginal Loans Commission.
Wardle was made a Knight Bachelor
on 13 June 1970 for "Service to Commerce and the Community". Also in 1970 the Italian Government made him a Knight Commander of the Order of Merit, the first Western Australian to have been granted this.
In 1973 he was given a Honorary Doctorate of Law
at the University of Western Australia and became a foundation senator at Murdoch University
.
Wardle was forced to walk away from the business and with his wife became a recluse on Dirk Hartog Island. He died in 1977 and Lady Wardle died in 2005.
In 1989 the island returned to government ownership (with the exception of 100 acre (0.404686 km²) including the original pastoral homestead) and is part of the Shark Bay Marine Park
. It is run as an eco-tourism resort and maintained by Wardle's grandson, Kieran Wardle.
West Leederville, Western Australia
West Leederville is a suburb northwest of the central business district of Perth, the capital of Western Australia, and is located within the Town of Cambridge Local Government Areas of Western Australia...
, died in 1977) was a businessman and supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
proprietor from Western Australia. He was best known for his 'Tom the Cheap' supermarket chain as well as revolutionising grocery shopping in the state.
Wardle was a popular Lord Mayor of Perth from 1967 to 1972.
Early years
Wardle's father was Englishman Walter Wardle, who arrived in Western Australia in 1890. Walter worked as a valuer and later as a branch manager at the Rural and Industries Bank of Western Australia. Tom was one of five children of Walter and his wife and the family lived in a number of towns in the South-West of the state. He attended schools at AlbanyAlbany, 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....
, Katanning
Katanning, Western Australia
Katanning is a town located 277 km south east of Perth, Western Australia on the Great Southern Highway. At the 2006 census, Katanning had a population of 3,808.-History:...
and Tambellup
Tambellup, Western Australia
The townsite of Tambellup is located in Western Australia's Great Southern Agricultural region, 317 km south-east of Perth on the Great Southern Highway where it crosses the Gordon River...
and in Perth at Thomas Street School
Perth Modern School
Perth Modern School is an academically-selective co-educational public high school located in Subiaco, an inner city suburb of Perth, Western Australia.The school, established in 1911, now caters for students with high academic ability....
and Perth Boys School
Old Perth Boys School
The Old Perth Boys School is located at 139 St Georges Terrace, Perth, Western Australia. The single-storey limestone building was designed by William Sandford in 1852 and is a significant example of a colonial building constructed in Perth from the mid-nineteenth century.-Built form:The Old Perth...
.
His mother died while he was in high school and in 1927 at the age of 15 Wardle started his working career at the National Bank
National Australia Bank
National Australia Bank is one of the four largest financial institutions in Australia in terms of market capitalisation and customers. NAB is ranked 17th largest bank in the world measured by market capitalisation...
. He eventually tired of the routine of clerical work and left four years later in 1931 to work as a farm labourer during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. During this time a romance with his sister's Swedish-born
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
friend Hulda Olson blossomed and after a two-year engagement they were married on 31 August 1940. Wardle joined the Citizens Military Force
Australian Army Reserve
The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen Military Forces, the Militia and, unofficially, the...
and in 1942 enlisted for overseas service, leaving his wife and newly born daughter Dianne behind with his parents-in-law. He was discharged from the army in early 1946 as a Staff Sergeant
Staff Sergeant
Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in several countries.The origin of the name is that they were part of the staff of a British army regiment and paid at that level rather than as a member of a battalion or company.-Australia:...
after having seen action against the Japanese in an anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
unit in New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
and Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
.
Tom and Hulda opened a corner-store grocery in 1946 in rented premises in Fitzgerald Street, North Perth
North Perth, Western Australia
North Perth is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Vincent.This old, established suburb just three kilometres north of Perth’s CBD is a place of mainly solid brick homes built from the early 1900s, many of which are now undergoing extensive renovations in line with the...
steadily building the business and good will. They managed to purchase the property in 1952. Their second child Geoffrey was born the same year.
While holidaying in Sweden with his wife in 1955, Wardle observed developments in northern European supermarket retailing which was a move away from shop-counter service to a system which allowed shoppers to browse aisles of produce at their own leisure. He also saw greater competition between retailers, unlike the resale price maintenance regime which seemed to exist in Australia. He later spoke of the mark-ups from local supermarket chains such as Freecorns, Charlie Carters and Tom Wills:
There's no doubt that their [the grocery groups] mark-ups were exorbitant and blood greedy ... they averaged 25 to 30 per cent and in some cases were as high as 100 per cent. The shopper was held to ransom.
Tom the Cheap
In early 1956 he sold the Fitzgerald Street shop and rented larger premises on Charles Street. After fitting it out himself with a self-service supermarket layout, he soon opened under a red on white sign displaying "Tom the Cheap". His business model was eseentially discounted trading margins and a no-frills service— he applied a 10% markupMarkup (business)
Markup is the difference between the cost of a good or service and its selling price. A markup is added on to the total cost incurred by the producer of a good or service in order to create a profit. The total cost reflects the total amount of both fixed and variable expenses to produce and...
as opposed to the standard 25% from his competitors. Old and new customers soon flocked to the store, attracted by his shop-wide discounts which undercut his opposition.
High turnover returned good profits and soon Wardle embarked on a dramatic and highly successful expansion programme. He opened his second store in Wembley
Wembley, Western Australia
Wembley is a western suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the Town of Cambridge. Its postcode is 6014.The main streets in Wembley are Cambridge Street, Harborne Street, Grantham Street and Selby Street. It is an upper middle class, medium-density suburb. Wembley is home to Bold Park...
in late 1957 and others in Scarborough
Scarborough, Western Australia
Scarborough is a coastal suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located approximately 14 km northwest of the city centre in the local government area of the City of Stirling...
, Bedford Park
Bedford, Western Australia
Bedford is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Bayswater....
, Osborne Park
Osborne Park, Western Australia
Osborne Park is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stirling.Osborne Park was named after William Osborne, a butcher who owned an abattoir on Wanneroo Road and was elected to the Perth Road Board , in 1875.The suburb was originally full of market gardens,...
and Mount Lawley
Mount Lawley, Western Australia
Mount Lawley is an inner suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Most of the suburb lies within the Local Government Area of the City of Stirling and small portions are in the City of Vincent and City of Bayswater...
in 1958. He opened country stores in Geraldton
Geraldton, Western Australia
Geraldton is a city and port in Western Australia located north of Perth in the Mid West region. Geraldton has an estimated population at June 2010 of 36,958...
and Kalgoorlie
Kalgoorlie, Western Australia
Kalgoorlie, known as Kalgoorlie-Boulder, is a town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, and is located east-northeast of state capital Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway...
in 1960.
The rapidly expanding chain was initially boycotted by the supplier and large grocery cartels, and he often had to bring produce from interstate and purchase from other grocers. Despite the difficulties, the innovative marketing proved highly successful and the expansion continued at a phenomenal rate: by December 1961 there were 39 metropolitan Perth stores as well as seven country stores. He had a staff of 300 and a turnover of £3,500,000 per annum. Soon after four stores in South Australia opened and one in Mentone, Victoria
Mentone, Victoria
Mentone is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 21 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Kingston...
. The South Australian stores were a joint venture with a Mr. Fairthorn who owned 49% of the chain in that state.
By June 1965 he had 90 Western Australian stores, 24 in South Australia, 14 in Melbourne and 2 in Sydney. Total annual turnover exceeded £14.5 million and net profit in Western Australia alone was more than £325,000 per annum. In addition, he operated six "Tom's Other Stores" which sold electrical appliances, drapery, clothing and furniture. Wardle was now the fourth largest grocery retailer in Australia, behind Woolworths, Coles
Coles Supermarkets
Coles Supermarkets is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Wesfarmers. It has 741 stores nationally Coles Supermarkets is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Wesfarmers. It has 741 stores nationally Coles Supermarkets is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Wesfarmers. It has 741...
and Moran & Cato
Moran & Cato
Moran & Cato was the largest chain of grocery stores in Australia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The partnership was established in Melbourne on 24 July 1881 when Frederick John Cato joined his cousin Thomas Edwin Moran who ran two grocery stores in Fitzroy and Carlton. Moran...
. Unlike many of the larger chains however, most of Tom the Cheap stores (with the exception of the South Australian company) were owned by the family company T.E. Wardle Pty Ltd. Until 1963, all stores were rented rather than in purchased premises.
Expansion continued and by 1969 he had 185 stores across Australia and turnover was in excess of £200 million per annum. In 1971 he acquired the John Cade stores, thus making a 208 store-strong retail empire which was barely 15-years-old.
Between October 1962 and May 1974, Wardle published Tom's Weekly in Perth, a free Saturday newspaper with light local news stories interspersed with advertising specials from his stores. Between 20 January 1973 and 11 May 1974 it was distributed with the Weekend News. Geoffrey Wardle was editor in later editions.
Other activities
Wardle began to dabble in property development from the mid-1960s. He bought the Sandovers site in central Hay StreetHay Street, Perth
Hay Street is a major road through the CBD of Perth, Western Australia. The street was named after Robert William Hay, the Permanent Under Secretary for Colonies. Sections of the road were called Howick Street and Twiss Street until 1897...
in 1965 for £500,000 which he opened as a "Tom's Other Store", together with other sites in South Perth
South Perth, Western Australia
South Perth is a residential suburb 3 kilometres south of the central business district of Perth, the capital of Western Australia, which adjoins the southern shore of Perth Water on the Swan River...
and Mount Hawthorn
Mount Hawthorn, Western Australia
Mount Hawthorn is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Vincent.The Mount Hawthorn area was first selected for urban development in 1887. In the late 1890s part of it was purchased by a syndicate of Edward Wittenoom, a politician and pastoralist; James Hicks and C. L. W....
. He also bought the Capitol Theatre (10 William Street, designed by George Temple Poole and opened in 1929) in 1966 which was at that time the main live concert venue in Perth and home of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra
West Australian Symphony Orchestra
The West Australian Symphony Orchestra , often known as the "Orchestra of the West", is the premier professional orchestra of the state of Western Australia.-History:...
.
In 1967 he ran for election of Lord Mayor of Perth following the sudden death of Charles Veryard
Charles Veryard
Charles John Besley Veryard was a City of Perth Councillor from 1927 until 1964 and Mayor of Perth from 1964 to his death in 1967.Veryard was also a manager and director of West Cycles...
. Wardle stated that he "... wanted to give the people something in return for what they have done for me in business." A complete newcomer to public office, he won the election comfortably with 28,068 votes against his main rival—Sir Frank Ledger's 19,339 votes. His campaign cost $25,000 and was run by the flamboyant Joan Watters. Wardle's mayoral reign happened during a period of transformation of the face of the city, with the state's resource development booming which was feeding city property development. Wardle is said to have liaised well with premiers
Premier of Western Australia
The Premier of Western Australia is the head of the executive government in the Australian State of Western Australia. The Premier has similar functions in Western Australia to those performed by the Prime Minister of Australia at the national level, subject to the different Constitutions...
from both sides of politics in David Brand
David Brand
Sir David Brand KCMG was the 19th and longest serving Premier of Western Australia and a Member of the Legislative Assembly from 1945 to 1975.-Early life:...
and John Tonkin
John Tonkin
John Trezise Tonkin AC , popularly known as "Honest John", was the 20th Premier of Western Australia , taking power after the almost 12 year term of Liberal Sir David Brand....
.
The following year he sold the Capitol to make way for its demolition and construction of a car park and office block. He gifted the profit from the sale to the City of Perth
City of Perth
The City of Perth is a local government area and body, within the Perth Metropolitan Area, which is the capital of Western Australia. The local government body is commonly known as Perth City Council. The city covers the Perth central business district and surrounding suburbs...
to assist in the construction of the city's long-awaited Perth Concert Hall—this was finally constructed with great encouragement from Wardle, between 1971 and 1973. The Wardle Room in the Concert Hall is named in his honour. In 1967, he had been an inaugural board member of the Western Australian Opera Company and generously provided the company with a Hay Street office suite.
The government of Sir Charles Court
Charles Court
Sir Charles Walter Michael Court, was a Western Australian politician, 21st Premier of Western Australia and member for the seat of Nedlands for the Liberal Party for nearly 30 years.-Early life:...
decided to sell Dirk Hartog Island
Dirk Hartog Island
Dirk Hartog Island is an island off the Gascoyne coast of Western Australia, within the Shark Bay World Heritage Area. It is about 80 kilometres long and between 3 and 15 kilometres wide and is Western Australia's largest and most western island. It covers an area of 620 square kilometres and is...
in 1968, which had until then been operated under a pastoral lease for sheep and wool production. Wardle argued that the island should be kept by the government as a nature reserve. The suggestion was declined and so, the now immensely wealthy Wardle bought it for his own use as a private retreat for his family, substantially de-stocking the large sheep flock over several years.
Wardle was the state's best known philanthropist. He gave away $200,000 in 1969-70 alone, and Stannage (1979) suggests he made bequests in excess of $1,000,000 during his lifetime, all from his personal account. Some of these included:
- he established two organisations for working mothers in Perth, and paid $500 per week for their upkeep
- he paid the salaries of three University of Western AustraliaUniversity of Western AustraliaThe University of Western Australia was established by an Act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and the only university in the state to be a member of the...
chaplains; he sponsored a medical student at UWA; and he paid $44,000 to the university's Department of Music between 1966 and 1974 to assist young composers - he maintained a cottage at Parkerville Children's HomeKatherine Mary ClutterbuckKatherine Mary Clutterbuck, MBE , usually known as Sister Kate, was an Anglican nun who pioneered a cottage home system for looking after orphan babies and children in Western Australia...
- he sponsored the annual Sir Thomas Wardle Art Prize, worth $500; and paid rent for the Contemporary Art Society
He made countless other gifts, to schools, hospitals, women's organisations and sporting bodies.
Appointments were also numerous. These included a lay directorship of the Australian Neurological Foundation, chairmanship of the Keep Australia Beautiful Council, chairmanship of the Festival of Perth Committee for 1974, chairmanship of the Aboriginal Cultural Material Committee, trusteeship of the Western Australian Museum
Western Australian Museum
The Western Australian Museum is the state museum for Western Australia.The Western Australian Museum has seven main sites: two in Perth within the Perth Cultural Centre, two in Fremantle , and one each in Albany, Geraldton, and Kalgoorlie-Boulder...
, governorship of the Western Australia Opera Company
West Australian Opera
West Australian Opera is the principal opera company of Western Australia and is based at His Majesty's Theatre in Perth.The company formed in 1967 and works in close association with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. As of 2008, the Chairman is Erich Fraunschiel and Artistic Director is...
, membership of the Australian National Airlines Commission and membership of the Australian government's Aboriginal Loans Commission.
Wardle was made a Knight Bachelor
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
on 13 June 1970 for "Service to Commerce and the Community". Also in 1970 the Italian Government made him a Knight Commander of the Order of Merit, the first Western Australian to have been granted this.
In 1973 he was given a Honorary Doctorate of Law
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
at the University of Western Australia and became a foundation senator at Murdoch University
Murdoch University
Murdoch University is a public university based in Perth, Australia. It began operations as the state's second university in 1973, and accepted its first students in 1975...
.
Later years
In 1972 Wardle acquired a 55% share in property investment company Westhaven Securities Limited. Westhaven raised a Swiss Franc loan valued at $1,034,000 through the Rural and Industries Bank of Western Australia to finance property purchases and in early 1977 defaulted, triggering a financial collapse of the Tom the Cheap family companies. Receivers were appointed and by mid-1978 a dividend of five cents in the dollar was declared on debts which had by then ballooned to more than $9 million.Wardle was forced to walk away from the business and with his wife became a recluse on Dirk Hartog Island. He died in 1977 and Lady Wardle died in 2005.
In 1989 the island returned to government ownership (with the exception of 100 acre (0.404686 km²) including the original pastoral homestead) and is part of the Shark Bay Marine Park
Shark Bay Marine Park
Shark Bay Marine Park is located at Shark Bay World Heritage Site, Western Australia, over north of Perth. It is the site of the world's largest seagrass meadows, with a total of twelve species of seagrass in the park....
. It is run as an eco-tourism resort and maintained by Wardle's grandson, Kieran Wardle.