Marlborough Street, Surry Hills

G’day, Charles Touma here, and today I’m on Marlborough Street in the magnificent Surry Hills to talk about an iconic building that was once here at number 47-97 that I’m sure most locals wouldn’t know about. Now, a commercial office development called Marlborough House, this 6 story building, was once the very first production warehouse and the engine of the David Jones Department Store. David Jones himself was a Welshman who went into the partnership in his first shop with Charles Appleton in 1838 after migrating to Sydney in 1835. The first store was known as Appleton and Jones, however the business was not successful and was dissolved after three years. This led to him establishing a new store on the corner of George and Barrack Lane which also had a turbulent time through the depression of the 1840s and rode a rollercoaster throughout the 19th century, but survived despite a period of insolvency. By the late part of the 19th century the business was under the control of the next generation of Jones’, who made some decisions including establishing a mail order side to the business. David’s son Edward travelled to Europe in the 1870s and remodelled the David Jones brand alongside the lines of what he discovered on that Continent. Now to give you an indication of the status of the David Jones brand, it is one of the oldest department store brands in the world. Only a Canadian department store brand, Holt Renfrew, had been around longer. Even Harrods, Macy’s, Bloomingdales, John Lewis, and Selfridges have not been established as long as David Jones.

Since its launch David Jones had always relied heavily on imported products, but in 1914 it was decided to build the company’s first manufacturing facility right here on Marlborough Street. A huge variety of goods were manufactured here from clothing to furniture to luggage, homewares and kitchen fittings. The dress-making department produced lines that eventually dominated their sales. By 1912 the factory employed 800 people and would have been the most significant employer in Surry Hills. You can imagine hundreds of seamstresses making dresses by hand, their designs being inspired by the top European designers, and the brand becoming associated with high quality and durability. As the products made here on Marlborough Street became so popular, David Jones began to expand opening new stores in Elizabeth Street in 1927, and Market Street in 1938, and the expansion continued throughout the 20th century. Today they have 45 stores, and the factory here at Marlborough Street proved to be one of the key ingredients to the growth of the company. Now, I’ve been selling real estate in Surry Hills and Redfern for over 20 years, and I’ve sold many properties very close to the old David Jones Factory, including 29 Anne Street, a three bedroom house which we sold for $2,380,000, and 47 Landsdowne Street, an unrenovated 4 bedroom home which we sold for $1,950,000. I think it’s a pretty big deal that the engine for the David Jones’ growth was right here in Surry Hills. I’m passionate about keeping these stories alive. My name’s Charles Touma, and my office on Thurlow Street’s always open for you to come in and have a chat.