Thornlie Square; no ordinary shopping complex!

Today I'm looking into the history and development of the local shops, Thornlie Square.

Original Signage, 1970s

To us modern day Thornlie folk, its just another place to grab your milk and bread with a few novelty stores. Its an easy place ot grab some take away or pop into the IGA which is open until 11pm. There is a gym and a TAB not far away, a bottle shop, a newsagent, a patisserie and a chemist. Coles and IGA have all the grocery essentials and you can easily get a haircut or do your washing at the laundromat.

Frontage in the late 1990s-Early 2000s

I was very lucky to find some photos from 1972 on the State Library of WA's trove heritage database. The photos are retrieved from a brochure designed to advertise the new mall, which according to the City Of Gosnells 'History Of Suburb Names' document was the first air conditioned mall in the state!  

Back in the early 1970s, it was a new shopping development opened before Garden City. Women were excited about the prospects of fashion and textiles available in the suburbs.

Boutique Flair, 1972

With the Crestwood estate being at the forefront of contemporary resident friendly estate design in the 1970's, the two went hand in hand to give Thornlie a suave feeling of opulence. 

Childrens amusement ride 1970s

While the IGA and Coles have come a long way to modernise the shopping experience, there is still a small bakery, Goreys Butchers, the fruit and vegetable shop as well as asian grocers selling a huge range of imported groceries. This is a huge indication on the changing demographic of Thornlie and the multicultural suburb that it has become.

Grocery store(s) 1970s

There Thornlie Square is still very much a family friendly shopping complex with 'The Nearest Cafe', a skate park nearby and small stalls that pop up in the halls selling novelty items and crafts. Occasionally local artitsts and fundraisers will hold a stall for specified causes and it creates an atmosphere where you stop and browse rather than dash in for the shopping.

Thornlie Square 2010's

When you next pop down to pick up that pizza or a late night grocery run, spare a thought for the 40 year history of the "local shops" - seems they've been "the local" for the generations before us!

Forever 6108!

State Library of WA

http://innopac.slwa.wa.gov.au/record=b2418538#

City of Gosnells
www.gosnells.wa.gov.au/

Good Samaritans Stores; Thornlie and Gosnells

In my travels this week, I noticed that not only had the Thornlie Good Samaritan store in Thornlie Square closed down, but also the Cannington store on Albany Hwy.

Being a huge op shopping enthusiast, I was very surprised to see these two stores had closed down in the local area. When I asked a family member who is employed by GSI why this was, he made suggestion that it was due to the lack of community support making the stores no longer viable.

What a shame! We are all so familiar with the yellow and black logo, and of course the Sammy Seal mascot, but apparently there have not been sufficient sales to support the continuation of the stores in the Thornlie and Cannington locations. This seemed to be supported by comments in the 2011-2012 annual report which stated;

"GSI continued to experience major business challenges during the year with the general retail sector dealing with world-wide economic downturn."

GSI Annual Report 2011-2012

There is good news though fellow thrifty folks- the Gosnells store is magnificent and has a huge selection of clothing, furniture and homewares (located at 2288 Albany Hwy). There is parking behind the store and loads of interesting items to browse.

For those who do not know about the Canning Vale store- there is a small outlet run direct from the GSI warehouse on Bannister road that sells everything for one dollar! Yep you read that right- everything is $1. They even have half price days where all items are 50c.

Most stores are so affordable anyway, but this is a great place to drop in and get a bargain.

While everyone loves a bargain- its the work that goes on behind the scenes that really makes the Good Samaritans worthy of all of our support- providing employment opportunities for disabled and handicapped individuals, the free home collection for donations and maintaining the bins around our suburbs. 

There are some wonderful people that work hard to bring these opportunities to those less privileged in our community, so next time you pass a Sammy's store...why not poke your head in and have a look around? It may just make your day!

Forever 6108!

Good Samaritan Industries (UnitingCare)