David Jones glamour through the decades from aerial deliveries to royal visits, supermodels and luxury fashion

Upmarket retailer David Jones has formed a key part of Australian lives since a Welsh-born immigrant opened his first shop in Sydney more than 180 years ago.

When businessman David Jones threw open the doors of his store on the corner of George and Barrack Streets in 1838, it was with the mission to sell “the best and most exclusive goods . . . that embrace the everyday wants of mankind”.

After so many years of aiming for that goal, the future of the department store is in doubt as it enters voluntary administration.

While David Jones claims the title of the longest continuously operating department store in the world, that could soon come to a crushing end after revelations it has not paid rent since September.

It is not the first time in its long history the business has struck problems, coming close to bankruptcy in 1856, with founder David Jones forced to return from retirement to repay creditors and salvage his store.

Mr Jones’ business continued to flourish after his son, Edward Lloyd Jones, transformed it into a “universal provider”, now known as a department store, in 1876.

His vision was for customers to be able to browse among luxury accessories and gourmet meals while waiting for their clothing to be tailored and wrapped.

In 1919, at a time when aeroplanes were still a rarity, David Jones became the first Australian retailer to deliver aerial parcels.

Customers would hear the distant whir of the David Jones-branded plane and rush outside to catch a glimpse of it flying overhead.

In 1927, the store moved to a bigger Sydney location on Elizabeth Street.

Many were confused by the decision, with the new store situated some way from the city’s business hub.

But its eventual opening was met by crowds so eager to get in that police were called to keep them under control and other retailers soon followed suit.

A glamorous restaurant on the seventh floor was Sydney’s biggest eatery until 1950, serving as many as 5000 people a day.

David Jones turned to one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century, Max Dupain, to guide its high fashion campaigns.

In 1936, David Jones started its expansion into food, opening a food hall with all kinds of tasty treats ranging from grocery essentials to luxury items.

After World War II broke out in 1939, David Jones began producing uniforms, while staff were given responsibility for distributing sandwiches to city wardens.

The retailer also determined that any staff who fought in the war would not suffer any drop in their pay.

Copies of David Jones news were regularly included in care packages shipped to the front line for its 1200 staff who joined the armed forces.

In 1942, the Ministry of Munitions took up residence at the Market Street store, boarding up most of the storefront window used for display, though the small space reportedly did not deter window dresser Harry Bindoff from doing his job.

Continuing its alignment with artistic expression, the store opened its David Jones art gallery in 1944, displaying works by artists such as Russell Drysdale and Sidney Nolan.

In 1948, the retailer celebrated an in-store parade by Christian Dior, the first time a Dior collection had been shown outside of Paris.

In 1951, the Elizabeth Street store Christmas choir delivered its first performance — a Christmas tradition that has continued until now.

And when Queen Elizabeth II visited Australia in 1954, a visit to David Jones formed an important part of her itinerary.

A State dinner to mark the first visit to Australia by a British reigning monarch was held at David Jones’ seventh floor restaurant, to which the Queen wore a dazzling yellow Norman Hartnell gown.

The 1950s and 60s marked a period of expansion for the retailer, which opened multiple David Jones stores across the nation, including in Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth.

In 1963, David Jones unveiled the iconic black and white houndstooth as its official brand code.

While its origins are unclear, legend has it that the founder’s great-grandson Charles Jones took inspiration from a vintage Miss Dior Eau de Parfum bottle. However, a designer claimed they had also submitted a houndstooth design for an in-house competition.

In 1969, as Australians were entranced by the moon landing, David Jones transformed stores into makeshift theatres where customers could watch history being made.

During the 1980s, David Jones first introduced its now famous advertising jingle: “there’s no other store like David Jones”.

The 1990s and 2000s became the “era of the supermodels” with the start of the retailer’s ambassador program.

Famous models whose names grace the David Jones list of ambassadors include Lauren Hutton, Megan Gale, Miranda Kerr and Samantha Harris.

In 2012, David Jones introduced online shopping, giving customers the chance to browse digitally as well as in a bricks and mortar store.

In 2018, David Jones opened a luxury designer shoe floor. It was launched by Sex And The City star Sarah Jessica Parker, with fans flocking to catch a glimpse of the actor.

A year later, in 2019, David Jones took over the Sydney Opera House for the launch of its spring and summer collection in front of more than 100 guests.

In 2020, the flagship Elizabeth Street store was refurbished with a $400 million transformation.