Dimmeys
Australian discount store chain
Dimmeys is an Australian discount department store chain. Founded as a gold-rush era drapery "Dimelow & Gaylard's", in rural Maryborough, the business became colloquially known as 'Dimmeys'. In the early 1900s the business name was changed.
Over the late 1900s the chain evolved from larger traditional Department stores to smaller 'bargain stores' in more locations. In 2014, the business had more than 40 stores spread across eastern and southern Australia.
History
In 1898 the Maryborough business Dimelow & Gaylard purchased an existing drapery business, established in 1853 by Joseph Britten, located in Swan Street, Richmond. These premises were built in 1878.
In 1904 the business was acquired in turn by John Jeffery.
The Swan Street store was extensively damaged in a fire in 1906, though it continued to trade until it was entirely rebuilt in 1907 in Romanesque style, designed by architects HW & FB Tompkins. As part of a 1910 extension by the same architects the building was topped with a distinctive clock tower, featuring a globe with red glass panels that were internally illuminated after dark, making it visible for several miles.
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This entry incorporates text from “Dimmeys” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.