From the Guardian · · 2m
188 years of David Jones in pictures
A visual history of Australia's oldest department store, from its 1838 origins to today.
In brief
A visual history of Australia's oldest department store, from its 1838 origins to today. David Jones, the world's oldest continuously operating department store still trading under its original name, has shaped Australian retail and fashion for 188 years. Originally reported by the Guardian.
Welsh merchant founded the store
Welsh merchant David Jones opened a drapery business on George Street, Sydney. The original site continued to trade until it was sold in the early nineteen seventies.
Elizabeth Street flagship opened
The Elizabeth Street store opened in nineteen twenty-seven and remains the company's flagship location to this day. The store was photographed in nineteen thirty-one.
Wartime manufacturing boom
Workers in David Jones' Surry Hills garment factory in nineteen forty-six produced clothing during the war years.Approximately half of the women working in manufacturing in Sydney in the nineteen forties worked in the rag trade.
Royal celebrations at the store
The David Jones Coronation Choir performed in the Elizabeth Street store in Sydney during June nineteen fifty-three to mark Queen Elizabeth the Second's coronation celebrations.
Massive flag for royal tour
The largest Union Jack flag in the world, one hundred feet by fifty feet and made in England, hung from David Jones's store for Queen Elizabeth the Second's royal tour of Sydney in nineteen fifty-four.
Art gallery housed major artists
From nineteen forty-four to nineteen eighty-five the Elizabeth Street store housed an art gallery which hosted artists including Sidney Nolan, Arthur Boyd and Russell Drysdale.
Supermodels launched collections
Australian supermodel Megan Gale paraded outfits by Australian designer Akira during the winter collection of David Jones in two thousand six. The store hosted major fashion events.
International supermodels appeared
International supermodel Heidi Klum appeared in a live window display for the launch of her new line Heidi Klum Intimates at David Jones Elizabeth Street Store on January twenty-eighth, two thousand fifteen, Sydney.
World's oldest department store
David Jones is the world's oldest continuously operating department store still trading under its original name. The retailer currently has thirty-eight stores in Australia and one in New Zealand.
“the world's oldest continuously operating department store still trading under its original name”
Major employer across Australia
The retailer employs more than six thousand staff across its stores. David Jones has maintained its presence as a significant employer in Australian retail for nearly two centuries.
The takeaway
David Jones, the world's oldest continuously operating department store still trading under its original name, has shaped Australian retail and fashion for 188 years.
