The first Kmart was opened in Burwood East back in 1969

KMART opened its very first store in Burwood East, a huge stand-alone shop that offered pram parking, an enormous car park and a restaurant. SEE THE PICTURES

THE very first Australian Kmart opened almost five decades ago in Burwood East.

The store, located on the corner of Burwood Hwy and Blackburn Rd, was a huge stand-alone store with an enormous car park out the front.

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The grand opening in 1969 was quite the occasion, with the president and chairman of S.S. Kresge Co’s wife cutting the ribbon.

The popular store often saw prams lined up out the front and long queues, and it expanded to include a restaurant to stop and have a bite if you needed a rest from shopping.

Kmart opens on the corner of Blackburn Rd and Burwood Hwy. File image

The opening of Australia's first Kmart.

Plenty of room in this lot.

Shoppers walk along Burwood Hwy to visit the store in 1969.

Finding parking on Christmas Eve in 1987 was a tough ask.

Check-outs at the East Burwood Kmart, after almost three months of trading.

There were plenty of check-out chicks and no self-serve machines in sight in 1969.

There was a pram lot out the front of the store in 1969.

Chock-a-block car park on a busy day.

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What the store is like now

The store is believed to have been the first Kmart in the country to open 24 hours.

It is now part of a larger shopping complex called Burwood One and was previously part of Kmart Plaza Burwood East.

This year, the store was upgraded to have the check-outs in the centre of the shop in with the others in the company’s portfolio.

Kmart East Burwood along with its new extensions.

There are fewer staffed check-outs and more self-serve paying stations than ever before.

The brand has undergone a revival in recent years, with shoppers singing the praises of its budget-friendly homewares on pages like Kmart Mums Australia Facebook.

Page creator and administrator Larnie Lawrence started the group in November 2015 to share “budget friendly styling hints and tips”.

“I love that Kmart is affordable and on trend,” Ms Lawrence said.

“Being a mum to five children (aged 14 to three years) I need to shop on a budget. I can find items at Kmart for a fraction of the price of other stores.”

And she thinks most of the 250,000-plus page members agree.

“Kmart is just so on trend, affordable and constantly updating their range, so it’s exciting to see what new items are being released,” she said.

Kmart in Burwood East as it looks today.

The company now has more than 220 stores across the country and in New Zealand.

An army of about 30,000 team members — 800 alone working in the Mulgrave head office — has driven the brand to become a household name.

“Kmart Burwood is open for 24 hours, seven days a week, providing customers with greater access and convenience to our everyday low prices ... we offer the lowest prices on every day on trend items for the whole family to enjoy,” a Kmart spokeswoman said.