Myer and its humble origin

You can’t say you have done shopping in Melbourne if you have not been to Myer. And No, I am not saying that hyperbolically or making any exaggerated statement.

Strategically located at the most central part of the town, Myer is one of the largest department stores in Melbourne, housing both affordable and upscale brands, from casual Hush Puppies footwear, luxurious Hugo Boss watches, Australian Aesop skincare products, to British high fashion Jimmy Choo fragrances.

But what intrigued me the most are not those dainty European cakes at its 3^rd floor Brunetti café, nor the occasional clearance sale that gives the feverish shopper’s adrenaline a rush.

It is the humble origin of Myer and its founder that made me pause and appreciate the beauty of Melbourne, and those classic tales of migrant success occurred in this relatively young city at the Southern Hemisphere.

The story of Sidney Myer, the founder of the Australia’s largest chain of department stores, is one of the most inspiring success stories amongst all.

1.         The Genesis: an underwear-wrapper at Flinders Lane

A Jew and a Russian migrant, Simcha Myer Baevsk (as he was originally known) emigrated to Melbourne when he was 21-year-old, following the footsteps of his elder brother Elcon Myer. Penniless and with little knowledge of English, the Myer brothers commenced their humble working life in an underclothing factory at Flinders Lane, Melbourne.

Myer then moved on to be a door-to-door salesman, pushing cart of products across the town, persuading traditional homemakers and modern fashionistas to give a chance to his exquisite laces and elegant stockings. 

2.         A natural salesman with an astute marketing brain
 

Shortly a year later in 1900, Myer took the bold step and established the first Myer store, a drapery store in Bendigo.  The business turned out to be a thriving success, thanks to Myer’s natural talent as a salesman and his innovative way of marketing. Myer designed and created visually enticing in-store displays, and fully utilized his advertising prowess to capture the loyalty of his female patrons.

The business boomed, and within a short few years, a Myer at Bourke Street Mall began its business and quickly became the icon of Melbourne’s fashion and style.

3.         A true leader
 

It is undeniable that Myer was an exceptionally gifted and visionary entrepreneur. But Myer was more than just that.

He was a true leader, a person of strong moral fortitude who received great respect and admiration from his employees.

The Australian Great Depression in 1930s saw the sudden surge of unemployment and severe economic downturn. Myer retrenched not a single of his employee. All staff, including himself, suffered pay cuts.

For the unemployed and homeless, Myer financed a Christmas banquet for 10,000 at the Royal Exhibition Building, gave a present to each child, and personally waited on his guests.

4.         Charity and philanthropy efforts

The Melbourne University, Children’s Hospital, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Shrine of Remembrance (just to name a few) are beneficiaries of Myer’s charity and philanthropy efforts.

Sidney Myer died suddenly at the age of 56 in 1934. He left a fortune of around $1 million (a very large sum of money at that time), one-tenth of which was directed to a charitable trust to exist in perpetuity- the Sidney Myer Fund. 

The Myer store today remains a great place to shop. However, being a public listed company and a shareholder-driven commercial enterprise, the Myer store slowly loses the personal touch a family business could offer under the leadership of the man Sidney Myer.

Yet Myer will forever mean more than just a name of a department store; it is a symbol of hope to the foreign migrants, a constant reminder of what the true Melbourne can offer to every hopeful soul with big dreams.

Location:

314-336 Bourke St
, Melbourne

Trading Hours:

Mon -Wed, Sat:          9 am to 7 pm

Sun:                          10 am to 7 pm

Thu – Fri:                   9 am – 9 pm 

Melbourne Central & the 3 free things to do

To me, visiting Melbourne Central is like invading a labyrinthine mall of endless entertainments. Navigate your way along the mazy trails, and you will discover little surprises and wonders embedded and littered at every corner and turn. The gargantuan mall spanning across two city blocks is a disoriented space jam-packed with international and local fashion brands, savoury and sweets, beauty and skincare salons, cinema and Karaoke bar, spa and gym, church and childcare centre, and even an underground train station!  

The risk of spending money on impulses while exploring the colossal 5-level retailers hub might be frowned upon by the shrewdest of all visitors. But fear not, there are always ways to have fun without the need to spend a penny.

1.         Visit the free entry Shot Tower Museum

Before the arrival of this modern shopping precinct, a 9 storeys shot tower stood aloof in the middle of the town since 1888, producing tonnes of projectiles for shotguns on a daily basis. The demand for the lead shot eventually dwindled, and the manufacturing process ceased and came to an end.

The Coop’s Shot Tower was heritage listed in the 1970s, rendering the acquisition and redevelopment of this central piece of land a real architectural challenge at that time. The innovative Japanese stepped in and constructed a 20-storey massive glass cone of contemporary design encasing the ancient tower, presenting the extraordinary marriage of the old and new under the flood of natural rays.

The tower is now occupied by the R. M. William shop (an Australian home brand of handcrafted leather boots). A Shot Tower Museum is inconspicuously hidden within the shop. Entry is free, so just walk in and discover the history of Melbourne and this beautifully preserved shot tower, and be amazed by the wonders of them all!

2.         Watch the Marionette Clock's display

This giant Seiko watch hangs from a glittering gold chain might look just like any other ordinary clock in town, but at every hour on the dot, surprises revealed. A marionette display slowly drops down from the bottom of the clock. A few miniature galah and cockatoos bow rhythmically while two golden minstrels play the gentle, heart-warming Australian song of Waltzing Matilda. Two koalas hide at the back of the clock relishing the magical moment quietly out of the visibility of curious onlookers.

The classic gold clock is situated just right next to the Shot Tower Museum.

3.         Read or borrow a book from the Little Library

This fantastic little gem is located right next to the Food Hall at level 2. A lovely community library for all, without exclusivity or any registry of memberships, I can never adequately describe to you how much I love this place. Take a break from your shopping spree, and enjoy a good book at this sanctuary of literary. Pick a book and bring it home, and return it at your leisure or bring an old book from home for an exchange. What a wonderful idea of a shared library in the middle of the town! 

Location of Melbourne Central:

Cnr LaTrobe and Swanston Streets

Melbourne VIC 3000

Trading Hours:

Saturday to Wednesday: 10 am – 7 pm

Thursday & Friday: 10 am – 9 pm 

"You’ve got Buckley’s or none"- the story of William Buckley

Buckley Ran Away from the Ship, by Tommy McRae, c1870; photograph taken from the Immigration Museum, Melbourne. The sketch was purchased by the Koorie Heritage Trust as part of a sketchbook in 1991. 

There is some magical element in this magnificent black-and-white sketch. I was totally intrigued by the strange irony of the drawing when I first laid my eyes on it: an odd white man trying to blend into the mysterious community of the aborigines.

Who was this extraordinary man experiencing such a bizarre lifestyle? Was he a forgotten “Tarzan” being left in the wildlife and adopted into the enigmatic tribe of the Australian indigenous? Or was he the adventurous Peachey Carneha in the Rudyard Kipling’s novel, the daredevil that set up his kingdom within the dangerous Kafirs community and being idolized as the omnipotent god? What had become of him in the end? Did he survive? Or did his scam get exposed, and ended being banished away, like the poor Peachey Carneha who eventually died in an asylum?

This secretive man is William Buckley, an Englishman born in year 1780.

1.         A runaway convict

Buckley was sentenced to transportation to the frightening and little known convict colony of Australia for 14 years in 1802, at the young age of 22. He was convicted of the offence of knowingly receiving a roll of stolen cloth, a crime that he protested his innocence throughout.

Buckley’s physical appearance probably did nothing to alleviate the harsh sentencing that he received. He was described as a “savage-looking”, “ungainly” and “low intelligent” man, a tall giant of possibly 6 ft 5 in height without shoes, and a face fit the image of a convict.

So the two ships of convicts arrived at Port Philip of Melbourne in 1803. Two months later, Buckley and several convicts did the astonishing stunt of prison break. Amongst the runaway convicts, some eventually returned, some were captured, and some were never heard from since then.

William Buckley, on the other hand, commenced his astounding journey with the indigenous that still left us awestruck centuries later.

2.         The reincarnated warrior

A sculpture of the aborigines by William Ricketts

Several months after his escape, Buckley encountered a group of Wathaurung women. What better luck could a man have: Buckley, having found a spear from a burial mound and used it as a walking stick, was being mistaken as the reincarnated warrior of the tribe, and was joyfully welcomed and adopted into the family of the tribe.

And so began the new life of Buckley amongst the indigenous for the next 32 years, a life of great community and disturbing realities: the peace of nature versus blood feuds, the long-panted liberty versus the horror of cannibalism.  

3.         Return to the western world

On 6 July 1835, after a stunning 32-year of escape, Buckley, dressed in kangaroo skins, took a bold step out of the bush and greeted his countrymen at the campsite of John Batman’s Port Philip Association. He was subsequently granted a pardon, regained the skills of his own language, worked temporarily as an interpreter to the indigenous, disenchanted by his new life, left for a new place and died at the age of 76.

So that is the end of the life of the Robinson Crusoe of Australia; a man that survived against all odds, the giant that will forever be associated with the favourite Australian idiom- “You’ve got Buckley’s or none”, which means “You’ve got no chance or none”. Yet the irony is, Buckley survived splendidly and left a legacy of hope, despite the prediction of “no chance”.

Gog and Magog in Melbourne's Royal Arcade

Gog and Magog, the two mechanized wooden sculptures standing at the end to the Little Collins Street in the Royal Arcade, must be the world’s grumpiest looking bell ringers ever. Constantly surveying the pedestrians with their suspicious squints, the two giants of 7-feet tall strike the bells reluctantly every hour, like two bad boys being compelled to perform a much detested job that they couldn’t wait to get away from.

The British legend claims that these evil pair were descendants of thirty-three wicked daughters of Diocletian (the Roman Emperor), who brutally murdered their husbands (so that they would remain subservient to no one), being punished with ostracism, subsequently populated a newfound island called Albion with the assistance of demons, and windswept the great land with a race of horrendous giants.

And there entered the hero Brutus (the legendary founder of Britain) and his most trusted warrior Corineus; With joint effort, they successfully annihilated those dreadful giants, with Corineus hurling the last two- Gog and Magog- over the cliff. So the western part of the island came to be called Cornwall (named after the heroic Corineus), whereas Brutus travelled to the east and founded the great London we know today.

The names Gog and Magog are also mentioned in various Jewish, Christian and Muslim scriptures, all making reference to the pair as symbols of all things evil and ugly. They are the “barbarians” to the Jews, the ones who “do great mischief on earth” to the Muslim, and the ones who will “one day rally with Satan” to the Christians. 

So with such hideous and infamous background, you might wonder why the two figures could be seated so proudly at the London’s Guildhall, and a replica of them are placed at this oldest arcade in Melbourne as trusted timekeepers since 1892.

Perhaps it was their symbolized strength and force, being the two last-giants-standing defending the land; or perhaps it was their rather obscure origin to which most of the immigrated Melbournians can easily relate with. Or maybe it was their macho appearance, or their bad-boy image of always being the “evil other”, the foes of all races that somehow intrigued the adventurous early settlors in Victoria.  

Regardless of the true reasoning, these adorable Gog and Magog sculptures will remain as one of the dearest landmarks in Melbourne that will continue chiming the magnificent Thomas Gaunt’s clock at each hour faithfully (albeit, grudgingly).

Location:

Royal Arcade, 335 Bourke Street, Melbourne (at the end to the Little Collins Street)