Remembering John Martin’s, 20 years since it closed in South Australia

THIS March marks the 20th anniversary of the end of John Martin’s department store, a much-loved institution in SA. But it was even more so for the staff.

The John Martin's carpark, as seen from North Terrace in the 1990s.

• Do you remember ... the John Martin’s Christmas Pageant?
• The Troubridge, the old ferry to Kangaroo Island
• Adelaide’s annual Christmas TV fundraiser
• The lemonade every South Aussie drank

MARCH 15 this year marks the 20th anniversary of the closure of one of South Australia’s most-loved institutions, the iconic John Martin’s department store.

Hundreds of former staff members will gather a few weeks earlier (on March 4) at Carrick Hill, the former home of store owner Sir Edward (Mr Bill) Hayward, to reminisce about the good times, swap stories and relive some of the glory days of working at Johnnies.

Most Baby Boomers still think of John Martin’s with great affection but for former staff members, it’s even more special.

John Martin’s in Rundle Mall, 1981.

The giant Father Christmas outside the John Martin’s Rundle Mall store.

John Martin’s lift operator Barbara Cocks, in 1958.

Pat Heard, who was ladies’ fashion manager at the end, believes John Martin's was such a wonderful place to work because of the Hayward family’s closeness to both the business and staff.

“It was very much a hands-on business and you really felt like you were part of one big family” she says.

John Martin’s started out trading as Peters and Martin's on October 26, 1866. It was a tiny drapery business that would develop and thrive to become one of Adelaide’s most successful department stores of the 20th century.

Edward Hayward Sr had taken ownership of the business just prior to John Martin's death in 1889 and, under his guidance and stewardship, the small business expanded and grew until 1901, when it became known as “The Big Store”.

A John Martin’s window display of men’s clothing in Rundle St, circa 1935. Source: State Library of SA

A window display of women’s shoes about 1950. Source: State Library of SA / B69499

The huge fire at John Martin & Co at the Rundle St building in April, 1901.

Part of the reason for the rapid growth may have been Mr Hayward’s concept in 1896 for a Magic Cave at Christmas time.

An advertisement from the local newspapers by John Martin’s & Company Limited invited customers, upon completing their drapery shopping, to ask for directions to the Magic Cave, displayed on the ground floor.

The idea was to create a magical experience for children, with music, a giant Christmas tree, toys, gifts and of course, Father Christmas. It was a huge success and from that year, the Magic Cave became part of an Adelaide Christmas tradition.

In 1923, The Advertiser described John Martin’s as drapers, tailors, clothiers and general merchants. The store was prominently positioned on the corner of Rundle and Charles streets and was renovated and enlarged several times until the mid-1930s when, after a major fire rebuild, it remained largely unchanged for the next 60 years.

Firefighters at the scene of 1901 blaze.

Children sit on Rudolph the Rooster in the Easter Cave, 1937.

Sir Edward Hayward with the 1964 Pageant Queen, who was not named.

Perhaps the most crucial event in the life of the department store was the introduction of the John Martin's Christmas Pageant in 1933.

After a visit to the US, “Mr Bill” Hayward envisaged a large, colourful pageant featuring characters from nursery rhymes and fairy tales, parading through the streets of Adelaide, accompanied by marching bands and culminating with Father Christmas arriving at the already established Magic Cave.

Over the ensuing years, almost every staff member was invited to be part of the annual parade. “Every store, City, Elizabeth, Arndale, Marion, West Lakes and Keswick had their own float,” recalls Pat Heard.

“I was in 11 pageants altogether. We were all very highly trained. In the carpark at the Rundle Mall store, we were drilled with marching, keeping in a straight line and rehearsing for the big day. It was just fabulous; it really was.”

Late-night shoppers in John Martin’s, circa 1978.

The ‘Miss Sophisticate Salon’, female teenage fashion in Johnnies in 1961.

John Martin’s in 1996.

The retirement of “Mr Bill” in 1981 signalled not only the end of the community-valued, family-style business but new directions for the company.

By 1985, the retail business of John Martin’s had changed hands several times, until it was finally purchased by rival department store David Jones, which continued to operate it as John Martin's until the decision to finally shut it down was made in 1998.

At the time of closing, former chairman Geoff Coles said the company had been “ … an integral part of the local community and it never lost sight of that, the community and its people were the very essence of its business, both those it employed and those that it served.”

Shortly after that, the building was demolished to allow for the Adelaide Central Plaza complex, which was to house a new, smaller David Jones store and other retailers. It opened in August 2000.

John Martin’s North Terrace frontage in 1956.

John Martin & Co’s Rundle St store in 1901.

Shoppers use the escalator at Johnnie’s, the first in Adelaide, in 1956.

Many of the Johnnies former staff members have maintained a close friendship as the years have gone by.

“I see my former work colleagues in the management group regularly,” Pat says. “We meet every two weeks for a dinner or a movie, and we’ve been doing this for 20 years. The Elizabeth store has a very strong group, too, and they meet frequently, and all the stores are always in touch with each other.”

I asked Pat to nominate a highlight of her years working at John Martin’s and after we talked about the Beatles concert of 1964, which the store famously underwrote financially, she most remembers the annual picnics at Belair.

“We’d have an annual mini games and all the stores took part and competed for a shield,” she says.

A crowd outside the store on Australia Day in 1917.

A 1940s advertising catalogue.

The John Martin’s building is demolished in 1999.

“There were cheer squads for each store; it was really so much fun and completely at the store’s expense.”

After the decision had been finally made to close the iconic store, David Jones sent in a “closure” team. According to Pat, they picked up on the staff passion.

“They were with us on that last night of carols in the Magic Cave and they couldn’t understand why it was happening.

An original John Martin & Co sign is revealed on a girder, exposed during demolition of the building in 1999.

“They had become almost part of our team and some of our fervour had started to rub off on to them.”

They say you’re never really dead while people still speak your name and talk about you. In that case, John Martin's is still very much alive and I get the feeling will remain so while ever its loyal staff have breath.

Bob Byrne is the author of Adelaide Remember When and posts memories of Adelaide every day on Facebook.com/AdelaideRememberWhen