General News
10 February, 2026
THE SELF SERVICE GROCER: The forerunner to the supermarket — with Brian Lennen
Chris Tonkin, a school-mate of mine lived above his parent’s grocer shop.
After school he had to work at the back of the shop packaging all the produce that came in bulk.
The process was to bag up (in brown paper bags) the produce in convenient amounts.
Each was measured precisely on set scales. The produce bagged in this way included salt, sugar, flour in all varieties, tea and mixed fruit peel.
They were stacked along the shelves accessed by a ladder that slid along on ball-bearing rails.
This brought back memories to Cheryl Lovel, a long-time employee at Dickins in High Street.
Dickins was established by Sidney Edmund Dickins in Geelong in 1920.
He played a major part in the establishment of the supermarket.
They became partners with Coles in 1958 and soon after were totally acquired. At its peak it had 54 stores.
David and Betty Tonkin were hard-working entrepreneurs. They prepared their own smallgoods.
I sold his saveloys in a roll at Fitzroy matches until the VFL put a stop to it.
In an era when businesses believed that you could co-operate, not compete, Fred, the butcher lent his mincer to make the saveloys with his sausage machine.
S.E. Dickins interviewed Cheryl Lovel on Friday and she started work on the Monday straight from school.
She was so thrilled to have a job that when her parents enquired about her pay, she had no idea.
On the Monday she started at 9 am, worked five and a half days, 40 hours a week with three weeks’ annual leave and loved every minute of it.
Her first pay was three pounds, 19 shillings and 11 pence halfpenny (£3.19.111/2).
All the stock was priced by hand and written in pencil.
As was the case at Tonkins’ much of the produce came in hessian sacks and chests.
Cheryl and her fellow workers weighed it and packaged it in more appropriate bags, usually two, five and 10 pounds weight.
Biscuits were taken from the large tins, weighed and put into brown paper bags.
Broken biscuits were one and sixpence and nine pence a half pound.
Initially, Cheryl worked on the registers, stacking the shelves and cleaning.
Many of the customers were recognised by their number plates.
After a while she worked in the office.
Some pranks on the uninitiated were to be sent to find striped paint, sky hooks or left-handed hammers.
Notable locals Jim Lowday, manager, and Vaughan Nitschke his assistant were well loved.
Pat and Joe Mullins delivered the groceries unloading them on trolleys.
Local produce included butter from the Maryborough and Newstead dairies, and flour from the flour mill.
Cheryl would “wire-cut” the cheese round into appropriate sizes, weighed, wrapped and priced. She saw mould on the “blue vein” cheese and removed it from the shelf. Another staff member asked where it was, she said it smelled so badly it was off and had to be returned to the supplier. She was informed that was how it was meant to be.
During her time there were 12 full time and two casual staff.
The arrival of decimalisation in 1966 presented some challenges dealing with two currencies and imperial measurements.
Friday was farmers’ day and High Street was inundated with the local “landed gentry”.
The men gathered on Frank Moore’s corner, while the women shopped.
The barber’s shop was also a popular spot where the men swapped yarns and had a pipe.
In the early days there was no such thing as heating and cooling. You froze in the winter and melted in the summer.
Eventually a heater above the front door blew hot air as you came in the door.
Cheryl remembers a dust storm that blanketed out High Street and took an eternity to clean up.
Sadly, after 28 years and two months, the doors were closed in January 1992 thus ending years of great friendships and service to the town. On closing there were five full time staff.
Cheryl made the transition from Dickins to Woolworths in a breeze and gave 20 years and four months service to it. She was one of the friendly faces at the “Big W”. The girls used to take refreshment at the Mermaid Cafe. Milkshakes and spiders were all the go.