Thos Hayward's & Sons Ltd store No 2 - Site of

Statement of Significance

DEMOLISHED
Thomas Hayward & Sons Ltd was one of the first business established in Bunbury and the store on this site was of social and economic importance to the people of Bunbury for over a century.

Physical Description

DEMOLISHED

History

At the age of 21 and financed by his father, Thomas Hayward sailed to Western Australia in 1854. He first established a prosperous farm at Wokalup before establishing Thomas Hayward and Sons, one of Bunbury’s first businesses.

Thomas Hayward founded his Bunbury merchant and import business in 1862 when he purchased Edward G Hester’s store, which had been established in the harbour area in the 1840s.

Hayward built a small warehouse to sell imported ironmongery and farm implements ‘on each and every Saturday’. The business grew and was firmly established in daily trading by 1862. By 1874, Hayward had built a house next to his store.

Thomas Hayward and Son did most of the ironmongery in the district, carried farm tools and equipment, bought local produce and shipped and made advances on wool.

As well as being one of the earliest farmers in the South West, a storekeeper and importer, Thomas Hayward was a member of the Bunbury Town Trust, and a member of the Legislative Assembly for Bunbury (1901) and Wellington (1904-11).

George Hayward (Thomas’ son) and A R Foreman (Thomas’ son-in-law) took over the business in 1898 and in 1910 F W Roberts purchased a partnership in the business. In 1912, Thomas Hayward and Son became a limited liability company.

In 1919, the firm established new premises for a department store on the corner of Stephen and Arthur Streets (this site). Thomas had died by this time.

The large department store had high trussed ceilings and carried a wide range of stock on shelves running the length of the pavilion.

Later, the store was taken over by Boans, who demolished the building in 1969 for a new store. Boans was subsequently taken over by Stirlings. Harris Scarf then occupied the building.

The place is no longer a department store; it has been divided up for numerous speciality stores.

Integrity/Authenticity

DEMOLISHED

Condition

DEMOLISHEDNo visible remains.

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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Last Update

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