Rankin and Carey’s Store

Rankin and Carey’s store opened in 1904 in Mary Street, Gympie (Photo source: Gympie Library photo collection).

The exterior of Rankin and Carey’s store. The store was on the corner of Smithfield and Mary Street (Photo source: Gympie Library photo collection).

The exterior of Rankin and Carey’s store ca.1910 (Photo source: Gympie Library photo collection).

Staff standing outside Rankin and Carey’s store (Photo source: Gympie Library photo collection).

Rankin and Carey’s store was opened in 1904 in the heart of Mary Street (at what is now 84 Mary Street, Gympie). The store was owned by Mr R Rankin and Mr J Carey, which is how it got its name. The well-known store sold a range of manchester, dress materials, groceries, haberdashery, shoes, menswear and ladieswear. In the later years, the store even sold household flooring products such as linoleum.

Ladies working in the haberdashery department of Rankin and Carey’s store in the 1950s (from left to right): Betty Ganley, Shirley Crow, Del Pratt and Claire James. (Photo source: Gympie Library photo collection).

Men working in the grocery department of Rankin and Carey’s store in the 1950s (from left to right): Jay McBride, Ray Byron, Ira Chapple, Bruce Balthies and Bill O’Hanlon (Photo source: Gympie Library photo collection).

The local history officer from the Gympie Library interviewed a previous employee of Rankin and Carey’s (who wishes to remain anonymous). The former employee worked there in a full-time capacity for seventeen years between 1947 and 1964. The employee had fond memories of working at Rankin and Carey’s, stating that “everyone got on well together.” The employee said they worked in several departments of the store, with most of their time being spent in the manchester and dress materials department. They took great pride in helping to dress the store windows with new clothing to attract new customers.

Men working in the dress materials and manchester department in the 1950s at Rankin and Carey’s store (left to right): Noel Hodges, Bob Colthorpe and Les Benstead (Photo source: Gympie Library photo collection).

Women working in the ladieswear department at Rankin and Carey’s store (from left to right): Betty Osbourne, Bernie Marlow, Norma Nash and Esme Parry (Photo source: Gympie Library photo collection).

They also described an innovative system they had in-store for when a customer would make a purchase. On the ceiling of the store, there was a wooden track (similar to a railway track) which would run between each department. When a customer would make a purchase, the salesperson of that department would place an invoice for the goods and the customer’s payment (in cash) in a small wooden ball that could be pulled apart and closed back together (see photograph below). The ball would then be placed on the track and due to the slight incline, the ball would roll down the track to the cashier. The cashier would process the money at the cash draw and then put the change in the same wooden ball with a receipt for the customer. The ball was then closed and placed on the track once more and returned to the relevant department. This saved the customer walking to the cash drawer to pay. There was only one cash draw in the store and one lady who would process the money. This system was replaced in the early nineteen fifties when cash registers were introduced.

The wooden ball that money and receipts were placed in, which was used at Rankin and Carey’s store (Photo source: Amy Sheaffe, 2024).

Two halves of the wooden ball that money and receipts were placed in, which was used at Rankin and Carey’s store (Photo source: Amy Sheaffe, 2024).

Women working at Rankin and Carey’s store (from left to right): Francis Freeney, Del Pratt and Bonnie Byron (Photo source: Gympie Library photo collection).

When asked about the floods of 1955, the former employee commented that thankfully no water entered the store. As a precaution however, they moved their stock up to the parish hall in O’Connell Street, where another employee sat outside all night during the floods, guarding the stock from potential thieves- talk about employee of the month!

Staff at Rankin and Carey’s store during the 1955 flood (Photo source: Gympie Library photo collection).

After sixty years of trade, Rankin and Carey’s store closed in 1964. The shop building then went on to become BCC Food Stores. Although Rankin and Carey’s store no longer exists in Mary Street, the memory of this store still lives on in the hearts and minds of many Gympie locals.