Over a remarkable seventy years, three generations of retailers built an iconic fashion business on the main street of Armidale, NSW.
The world was changing fast, and these canny retailers not only kept up with it, but they eagerly met head-on the demand for the latest fashion. They knew the key to their success was to ensure they were up-to-speed with the latest trends from international markets. This strategy maintained their operation’s position as a constant on the shopping lists of every person in the growing township.
An ability to morph their offering to meet ever-changing market demands, meant Jury’s was not simply the only place to shop, but also the only place to be seen.
William Jury arrived in Sydney from Kousba, a small village in Lebanon, in 1923. He originally worked in a barber shop in Sydney and eventually travelled to Cootamundra where he started a hawking business selling a variety of merchandise in the surrounding districts.
William married Eileen Ayoub who was born in Cootamundra and they moved to Armidale in 1927. He continued working as a hawker in the Armidale district, having purchased a horse and sulky from his father-in-law. William later purchased a shop in the main street (formerly a horse stable) which his wife managed whilst he continued the hawking business. This shop soon became “Jury’s – The Busy Store”.
By his side from an early age, were his two young sons, John and Brian. In their early teens both boys would serve an apprenticeship that would last more than forty years.