Longtime shoppers recall David Jones glory days as flagship store faces uncertain future

David Jones, one of Australia’s oldest department stores, is prompting a wave of nostalgia as shoppers reflect on its past at the same time the retailer faces an uncertain future.

For generations the Elizabeth Street flagship in Sydney served as more than a shop; it was a destination for family outings and seasonal ritual. The company traces its roots back around 150 years, and for many city and regional shoppers a visit to DJs was a major event.

Former customers recall entering cool, marble-floored halls and climbing distinctive wooden escalators that felt like a small wonder. The store’s lifts were operated by uniformed attendants who manually guided passengers between levels, announcing each department as the lift stopped.

Shopping trips were often whole-day affairs for suburban families. One regular memory involves driving a packed Holden station wagon from places such as Wahroonga, catching the train to Town Hall, and being shepherded through the store by parents intent on buying clothes and other essentials.

Credit arrangements at the store eased purchases. Shoppers say they could buy on account using a small plastic card bearing their name, an arrangement that helped larger families manage purchases and pay later.

Services extended beyond retail. Mothers historically used the Women’s Amenities Centre and crèche rooms in Hyde Park while they shopped, and the building hosted dining options from downstairs cafeterias to a more formal restaurant higher in the store.

There are personal stories of customer service remembered decades later. One family says a refrigerator bought in 1966 was replaced without dispute when it failed, an example cited to illustrate the deep trust some customers placed in the retailer.

The store also doubled as a communal space. Crowds reportedly gathered inside the store on 21 July 1969 to watch the Apollo 11 moon landing on television, an image many still associate with that era of department-store culture.

Shifts in shopping habits have been pronounced. Longtime patrons say they now visit the Elizabeth Street store far less often than in earlier decades, and that online shopping and more-specialised retail outlets have reduced the department store’s dominance.

As the future of the Elizabeth Street store is unclear, former shoppers describe a sense that an era of retail and social ritual centred on large department stores is drawing to a close.