This photograph shows a group of men outside the warehouse headquarters of boot and shoe manufacturer and importer, John Hunter, at 47 York Street, Sydney.
Shoe manufacturing was a significant industry and a major employer in late 19th and early 20th century Australia. Hunter claimed to be the largest importer of boots and shoes in the country. In 1892 he had around 60 places of business in the colonies of New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia, with a factory in each colony. A photograph of his Redfern, Sydney factory can be viewed on the State Library of New South Wales website. One of Hunter’s many retail outlets was the City Boot Palace on the corner of George and Market Streets in Sydney, the exterior of which can be seen in a photograph of Market Street in the museum’s Tyrrell collection.
According to an advertisement in the Sydney Morning Herald on June 26, 1896:
A Step in the Right Direction Is a Step into John Hunter’s Boot Palace and the reason of that is obvious – to those at least who wear Boots and Shoes…
I sell boots and shoes that resist the wet to-day, and the sun to-morrow, that wear right up to the day that may reasonably be expected to be their last. It isn’t always you ask a boot to wear right out; you cannot afford to be down on your uppers. My boots are smart in appearance, style and finish; they never look shabby, and last, but not least,
I SELL CHEAPEST…
The photograph above is part of the Phillips collection, acquired from the estate of Raymond W. Phillips, a descendent of Arthur J. Phillips, a late 19th century Sydney assayer and gold refiner who is also thought to have been the photographer. The Phillips collection contains several group portraits of workers, including one photograph of the employees of earthenware and pipe factory that was posted on Photo of the Day, December 23, 2009.
Photography by [Arthur J. Phillips]
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