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Morley Johnsons

Morley Johnson Ltd was a firm of furnishing retailers and furniture manufacturers, with a retail outlet located in George Street Sydney opposite St Andrew's Cathedral.

In 1886, William Morley Johnson started in business as a stock and general auctioneer in Kyneton Victoria. He soon moved to the nearby goldfields town of Bendigo to open a furniture store before deciding to relocate to Sydney. In 1906, he opened his Morley Johnsons furniture store in George Street Sydney - the venture was funded in equal parts by William Morley Johnson, his brother J S Johnson, and G W Rocke.

In its earliest advertisements, Morley Johnsons referred to itself as 'The money-saving house furnisher'. The company clearly prided itself on good value for money and surviving catalogues show that the firm sold everything for the home: furniture, curtains and other soft furnishings, beds and bedding, carpets and floor coverings, lamps, radios, dinnerware and kitchenware. A 1930s catalogue (TC 749.20493 MOR/1) offered customers a trade-in of old furniture for new, a 12-month free trial of their radios and free measure and quotes for the installation of blinds, curtains, linoleum and carpets.

In the 1930s, Morley Johnson offered customers payment through lay-by that comprised a deposit and then payment by a series of installments. However, a 1958 catalogue, 'Everything for the home' (TC 749.20495 MOR/1) introduced a new system where no deposit was necessary on any purchase. This change of policy is perhaps evidence of the more competitive retail environment that existed after World War II for firms like Morley Johnson. Morley Johnsons had become a public company in 1952.

After several years of declining earnings, Morley Johnson closed its George Street store in 1964 and within two years was taken over by Milton Investments Ltd. In 1965, electrical and furniture retailer Bonds & Kirbys opened a branch on the site of Morley Johnson's former George Street store. Morley Johnsons was one of a number of furnishing stores that disappeared from central Sydney in the 1960s and 70s as city rents rose and shopping centres were built in the suburbs.

Related materials:

To see all the Morley Johnson material held by the Caroline Simpson Collection, go to the library catalogue.

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This online exhibition has been inspired by the trade literature from Sydney’s furniture and furnishing retailers, with all the illustrations sourced from the Caroline Simpson Collection

Published on 
Portrait of man in dark shirt against sandstone wall.

Michael Lech

Curator

Michael Lech is a curator at MHNSW. He has worked on exhibitions, presented talks and written extensively on various aspects of the history of the home in Australia. Michael’s work has covered areas such as interior design, the history of wallpapers and furnishing textiles, the heritage movement, Sydney’s department stores and design history in Australia.