General News
27 May, 2025
THE LITTLE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER: The demise of the family milk bar — By Brian Lennen
Making a random count of the number of milk bars (convenience stores) around the Maryborough township, I counted close to 20 that had once operated.
Before the arrival of the giant supermarket chains (Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and IGA), these small shops were essential for the local families.
I believe there are possibly two that have survived and they rely heavily on their “take away” component.
Because the shopkeeper usually lived in a residence attached to the shop, they could have a knock on the front door at any time. Most shopkeepers accepted this.
Of course in times when money was short and the pay cheque was once a week and credit cards didn’t exist, many people ran a tab.
The tab was a pay you later scheme which the shopkeeper hoped would be honoured.
Due to necessity, some households would run up tabs with several shops.
A strong reliance was on the honesty of the customer to meet their payments.
Some shops would carry an extensive range of groceries and fruit and vegetables.
Before the time when adolescents took to alcoholic drinks, the milk bar became a popular meeting place with malted milks and spiders the most popular.
The introduction of the slot machine was a money-maker for the shops.
Once the jukebox was installed, the nature of the shops changed.
In the evenings and at weekends local “teeny boppers” would gather and jive to the latest hits.
The girls dressed in multi-petticoated skirts and would whirl around as they flashed their petticoats.
The young men with their hair combed back with thick hair cream and long sideboards (reminiscent of Elvis or Ricky Nelson).
Some were active partners and joined in the gymnastics of the dance.
Of course, as is the case in society, some were labelled as trouble makers, and even given the tag of “bodgies and widgies”.
This is well emphasised in the Olivia Newton-John classic “Grease”.
Stovepipe trousers, pointy-toed shoes (nearly always black) and leather jackets were all the rage.
A new language blossomed with every sentence punctuated with “man” or “cool” or “dude”.
In 1956 the world was to change in an unprecedented way.
Of course the Melbourne Olympics brought exposure to the international visitors, but it also heralded in television.
Although the service to the country was limited and the costs were prohibitive, our world changed forever with multi-nationals taking over.
The Coles brothers expanded from a small grocers in Collingwood into a multi-billion dollar business.
Woolworths, and Aldi (Germany), along with IGA, now dominate.
One by one the small shopkeepers went out of business, especially as the big supermarkets extended their trading hours.
Despite being major employers, with most supermarkets their profits are not chanelled into the local community, as was the case of the milk bar proprietors.
We may be replaced with “artifical intelligence” before we realise.