Snow’s and the Golden Age of Australian Department Stores

Around the world, the big department stores of the 1920s to the 1950s wielded great power in dictating national tastes and fashions; a visit to any of these stores was an event in itself and an important social outing.

In Australia, Snow’s department store was a household name. Its leaders and their families could be seen as a commercial aristocracy who socialised together, holidayed together, and collectively shaped business and industry. They were pioneers not just in retailing but in politics and other spheres – such as manufacturing, advertising, banking, heavy industry, horse racing and education. Their weddings, parties and business deals were closely watched and widely reported in the press.

Ballarat-born Sydney Snow, the eponymous founder of Snow’s, headed a retail and commercial dynasty that extended throughout Australia and maintained strong trade connections with Britain and Continental Europe. Sir Sydney’s youngest daughter, Elizabeth (Betty), married Richard Lane, one of the three brothers who founded the publishing house Penguin Books, thus entwining two families with a significant place in Australian cultural history.

The story of Snow’s is evocatively told here by Sir Sydney’s granddaughter Elizabeth Lane and historian Stuart Kells in collaboration with Elizabeth’s daughter Louise Lane and art historian Fiona Kells. Lavishly illustrated with photographs from family and public archives, this beautifully designed publication is a proud tribute to the golden age of Australian department stores.