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Giddings' Store & Post Office, Cronulla

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Collection SummaryThe Giddings family were true pioneers who played an integral role in shaping the life of Cronulla. With four stores and a cottage, various business ventures, and contributions to their local community, it seems a given that Giddings Avenue was named after this hardworking and enterprising family.HistoryWhile the evolution of the Sutherland Shire progressed at a steady pace during the latter half of the 19th century, the Cronulla peninsula remained remote. Difficult access to the area (originally Crown land not released for sale until 1895) impacted the region’s growth and by 1900 only a handful people appeared on the electoral roll as living at Cronulla Beach. Factors contributing to the district’s development included the opening of the Oriental Hotel (Cronulla’s first hotel constructed by Captain Joseph Springall in 1888) and changing attitudes towards sunbathing and surf. The opening of the Illawarra railway line in 1885, while not yet providing a direct link, also offered improved access for visitors.

In August 1890, a petition signed by 36 people lead to the first post office at Cronulla being established. With the Post-Master General’s approval secured, Captain Springall’s daughter, Clara, commenced postal duties from the Oriental Hotel, working until her marriage in April 1891. Yet, after only four years, with the combined pressures of debt, underutilised rooms, and a downturn in the economy, Captain Springall withdrew from his unprofitable hotel venture. The new licensees, Albert Giddings and his wife Agnes (nee Smart), who had relocated to Cronulla two years earlier, took over hotel operations in 1893. The Hotel was renamed Cronulla Beach Hotel and continued its dual life offering accommodation and a postal service. The Giddings’ entrepreneurship saw them expand to include coaches which transported hotel guests between Sutherland Railway Station and Cronulla Beach. The Giddings successfully managed the hotel for seven years before choosing a different path to become storekeepers.

In 1900 the Giddings constructed a new post office; a small weatherboard cottage located on the corner of Gerrale Street and Nicholson Avenue. An additional building sitting in proximity to the post office served as a general grocery store with Agnes Giddings successfully managing both while also acting as newsagent. It was during this era that Cronulla evolved into a popular seaside destination. With local Council injecting funds into amenities such as bathing sheds, shelters, and seating, nearby cafes and refreshment rooms also began to appear. As word of Cronulla’s natural beauty spread alongside a growing popularity in seeking sun and surf, tourism steadily climbed and for many years the Giddings continued to operate a horse-drawn coach service transporting picnickers and day-trippers between Sutherland Station and the beach. Changes brought about by the advent of the Sutherland-Cronulla steam tramway in 1911 saw the end of the coach service, but at their height, the Giddings family owned 56 horses and 5 coaches.

The Giddings’ commercial endeavours paid off, and in 1910 approval was granted for the construction of a new store. Over 80,000 bricks were used in the 2-storey edifice positioned between the post office and general store. In the years before the arrival of the steam tramway, Giddings’ Store was the business and social hub of Cronulla where those travelling by coach would meet. Agnes Giddings, a community-minded citizen with an upstanding reputation, also raised three sons during these years, boys who would grow up in the family trade. In time, Lance, the eldest, began operating a successful real estate business from an office built for him within the store and in 1913 he joined Agnes when the Giddings diversified and undertook a timber and builders supply business.

According to the electoral roll of 1917, Agnes and Albert Giddings continued employment as Storekeepers, Lance was Store Manager and middle son, Francis, Store Assistant but by 1920 Agnes and Albert played a less prominent role. Other proprietors of the Giddings’ stores included Clarence Moss Short and William John MacLardy, shopkeepers who, in turn, became part of the narrative of the oldest grocery store in Cronulla.

Photograph

Horses and carts in front of Giddings Store, Cronulla

Giddings' Store and Post Office, Cronulla, with horse- drawn waggonette at the left, ca. 1900s

Giddings' Store and Post Office, Cronulla, 1904

Giddings' Store and Post Office in Gerrale Street, Cronulla, with two high-sided automobiles waiting out front

Giddings' Store and Post Office, Cronulla, with horse-drawn vehicle out front and people on the verandah, ca. 1907

Giddings' Store & Post Office in Gerrale Street, Cronulla with four horse-drawn coaches out the front

Giddings' Store and Post Office, Cronulla with a horse- drawn omnibus waiting out front, 1906

Giddings' Store and Post Office, Cronulla, with horse- drawn coach at the left, ca. 1908

Map

Water frontages Cronulla Saltaire Estate : auction sale on the ground at 3 p.m. Saturday 6th April 1918

Village of Cronulla proposed town plan : Parish of Sutherland, County of Cumberland

The McAlister Estate Cronulla

Sutherland. 53 : part of B Riding, Parish of Sutherland, County of Cumberland

Port Hacking : Village of Gunnamatta, Parish of Sutherland, County of Cumberland : plan of suburban portions, nos 227 to 235 & 239 to 256, 285 & 286.

Cronulla, Croker's & Small's subn : 31 allotments for auction sale at the rooms, 133 Pitt St. at 11.30 O.'C., Monday 31st January 1910

C. McAlister (Cronulla Beach)

Auction sale, Crown lands, town lots, Port Hacking on Tuesday, 10th April 1900 at 11.30 o'clock a.m.

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[Account] General Store Invoices

[Account] Giddings' Store

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SubjectsGiddings' Store and Post Office (Cronulla, N.S.W.)General stores -- New South Wales -- CronullaGerrale Street (Cronulla, N.S.W.)Giddings Avenue (Cronulla, N.S.W.)Retail trade -- New South Wales -- Cronulla