Business with Integrity-this man proved it is possible!
I confess I don't mind a bit
of shopping - currently though it's more of the “window” type - so when I was alerted to a person who once was the creator
of a department store, I remember from my distant childhood, I had to delve
more.
There are many store
proprietors that call Rookwood "home", and I will publish blogs about
them over the coming months, but today's piece pays homage to: -
WILLIAM BUCKINGHAM
William Buckingham was born
in Yorkshire Northern England in 1854 the eldest child of Samuel and his wife
Mary nee Moore. The family which included several more children arrived upon
these shores in the winter of 1875 when William was about 20 years of age. It
didn’t take long before William set up a drapery business. By 1884 his business
was listed as Buckingham and Pepper relocating from 180 Pitt Street to 510
George Street. The business continued at that address until 1894 when it was
trading only under Buckingham’s name.
In March 1894, W.
Buckingham, family draper, opened its doors to the public at its new premises
at 171-173 Riley Street, Oxford Square. The store was equipped with a hydraulic
lift as well as electric lights and sold boots and shoes, under garments,
millinery as well as the new-fashioned drapery. The store also included offices
and workrooms. William married Hannah Gallatley in 1883 and they went on to
have a sizable family.
William became interested in
the Baptist faith under the guidance of Reverend Hibberd from the Bourke Street
Baptist Church in Darlinghurst and was a generous supporter of the church and
its teachings until his death. In 1901 he helped to set up the formation of the
Stanmore Baptist Church with an inaugural meeting at his home “Balnagowan” in George
Crescent, on the Petersham/Stanmore border and was actively involved after its completion. He also
sang in the choir and was in demand as a soloist.
His Baptist beliefs were the
playbook to his life. William believed that all the Christian virtues of
integrity, self-control and truth in advertising were those a man should follow
in order to succeed in business. He stated that a businessman who is dishonest
may appear to have success for a time, but that “karma” would pay a visit eventually.
He believed in daily prayer and after lunch would retreat with several others to a
quiet room to pray.
The number “seven” is linked
to William’s life. He was born on the seventh day of the month, arrived in
Sydney on the seventh, commenced business on the seventh, married on the
seventh, had seven children and died on the seventh!
In 1908, William had opened
premises at 71-73 Oxford Street and expanded the company’s Riley Street address
to include 167-173 (there’s those sevens again) Riley Street.
Hannah contracted pneumonia
in 1918 and died at Balnagowan and was buried at Rookwood. The service was
attended by many leading dignitaries of Sydney at the time as well as a number
of employees.
In September 1920,
Buckingham’s Ltd was registered as a public company by which time three of his
sons had joined the company. His eldest son William succeeded his father as Chairman
of the Board in 1928 when he stepped down and held the post for a further 36
years until his resignation from the company in 1966.
William Buckingham died
after a short illness on 7th December 1928 at his home and was buried with his wife in the Independent area fronting Weekes Ave in the
Cemetery. He had celebrated his company’s jubilee earlier that year in March.
William Buckingham's grave in Rookwood - author's own
His company continued and
his youngest son, Ashley, opened an Ashleys store in the Imperial Arcade and
later Curzons fashion store in Pitt Street expanding both into the suburbs. He
became joint managing director of Buckingham’s from 1948 and later managing
director from 1955. The store successfully brought in an “easy payment” credit
system and hired many salesmen to display goods and catalogues and take orders
at customer’s homes. A few years later Buckingham’s and Ashley’s stores were
amalgamated. Upon his death in 1962, Woolworths purchased seven of the Ashley’s
stores.
Nicholas Aboud was called in
by the members of the family to take on the managing director position. The
Buckingham family sold the business in 1967 and the Oxford Street building was
sold for redevelopment.
On Anzac Day, 25th
April 1968, following the commencement of its demolition, Sydney witnessed one
of the most spectacular building fires the city has ever witnessed in recent
memory. Exploding gas cylinders assisted in totally destroying the building.
The event made for some very spectacular footage.
I’m not sure how William
Buckingham would have felt upon his flagship store being destroyed by fire, but
it was no longer owned by the family and in the process of being demolished. I remember my mother at the time reminiscing about her many trips to the store in the 1940's and 1950's - I vaguely remember it but I do remember that the store was a bit of a way from the heart of the city.
Sadly, the Buckingham
residence in Gordon Crescent, Balnagowan, is a shadow of its former self having
been divided into one-bedroom apartments with its exterior in a sad state and the
gardens bereft of plantings. It too suffered some damage in a fire in the 1970’s
I’ve been led to believe.
Today’s blog has been
sourced from a number of items including various articles from newspaper
reports via Trove as well as information from the Powerhouse Museum and State
Library.
I must agree with Mr.
Buckingham’s philosophy about integrity and truth in business!
If you have any comments,
please add them to this blog or add a comment at the group Facebook page which
you can find under a search for
Rookwood cemetery
discoveries
Or simply send me a personal
message at
Until next week
A great read Loraine, I have vague recollections of visits there during school holidays with my mother, and I certainly remember the fire and the newspaper headlines…Thank you for sharing with AHI…
ReplyDeleteIt was the pride of Oxford Street at one time, then sadly destroyed.
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