Museum Notebook: Londontown - ‘a little bit of London in faraway Whanganui’

Childrenswear window display at Londontown in 1947. Photo / Whanganui Regional Museum Tesla Studios Collection ref: 54392

“When a person says, ‘I bought it at Londontown’, that statement carries with it a definite assurance of quality, excellence, correct style and value.

“We think a good deal about our name - and we are going to keep on thinking about it, making it more valuable, making it mean more to our customers.”

WJ Robinson, Proprietor, Londontown Dept. Store - Wanganui Chronicle, February 8, 1936

Londontown Department Store was founded in May 1928 by William J Robinson. His first business was a small retail shop in Victoria Avenue. Trained in London as a draper, he named his new store Londontown so there would be “a little bit of London in faraway Wanganui”. The store grew quickly and in 1936 moved to 131 Victoria Avenue.

The new store had a mantle showroom and millinery department, a dressmaking department on the first floor and a bargain basement. Childrenswear and wool departments were added in 1940 and menswear and furniture opened in 1944. Robinson opened a creche in 1941 to enable mothers to concentrate on their shopping, an innovative and popular move. He had a way with words and was a constant and original advertiser.

Onward – Ever Onward – Wanganui’s All Conquering Store Attacks Tomorrow with the Sword of Low Prices Staging the Annual Summer Sale: A Veritable Downpour of Bargains.

Wanganui Herald, January 19, 1937

Upon his retirement in 1947, Robinson’s daughter Eleanor took over the managing directorship of Londontown, holding this position until 1976. She was also the chairman of directors from 1947 to 1965. Under her management, Londontown expanded in both size and renown. Previously she had been a highly regarded buyer for United Stores’ department stores such as Kirkcaldie & Stains and James Smith, travelling to England, Europe and America to explore fashion and trends, bringing back many innovations and ordering new stock.

Londontown's manchester department in 1947. Photo / Whanganui Regional Museum Tesla Studios Collection ref: 53836

In 1969 she extended the store to include a modern frontage on St Hill Street. In 1970 an escalator, the first in Whanganui, was installed. As the business expanded, departments were rearranged. On the ground floor were the fashion showroom, millinery, corsetry, lingerie, wool and haberdashery. On the first floor were furnishing, dress fabrics, manchester, chinaware, toys, the Tudor Room Coffee Lounge and the Ladies’ Room.

If you lived in Whanganui between the 1950s and 1980s, you will remember the Spaceship Mk.VII, one of several children’s amusement rides installed by Eleanor Burgess. Following its final touchdown, after Londontown closed, she donated the spaceship to the Whanganui Regional Museum collection.

Spaceship MK.VII was a feature for children visiting Londontown between the 1950s and 1980s. Photo / Whanganui Regional Museum Collection ref: 1989.88

Eleanor also used advertising to great effect, putting Whanganui on the world fashion map.

Londontown Brings you Lovely Merchandise from the World’s Markets.

Wanganui Herald, July 28, 1955

She married Alexander Sievewright in 1937. She then married Frank Wooldridge Burnet, a Whanganui accountant, in London in 1955. He died in 1971 and the following year she married Murray Burgess.

Londontown was sold to the Farmers Co-op in 1978, resold in 1986 to PDC and finally closed in February 1989, when it suddenly went into receivership.

Born in Christchurch in 1908, Eleanor Burgess contributed much to enterprise and community ventures in Whanganui. In addition to her business interests, she became the first patron of the Bason Botanic Gardens, working behind the scenes and donating many rare trees and plants. She was a life member of the Royal NZ Horticultural Society and a member of local gardening societies. The Eleanor Burgess Trust still funds beautification and gardening projects in Whanganui.

* Libby Sharpe is senior curator at Whanganui Regional Museum.