Cherrys Dry Cleaners, Claremont

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c. 1918

Overview

Stone house with gable and iron roof. Bullnosed iron roof to verandah with turned posts, decorative brackets and valance, canvas blinds. Weatherboard addition to side of house. Adjoining brick building and fence over which is sign [CHERRYS / DRY CLEANERS] separates dwelling from shed, tank on stand, windmill of business premises. Close-picket fence to side of house and surrounding dry cleaners and scalloped open-picket fencing to street frontage. Rough verge, unmade road, trees in background.

Historical information

Cherry & Sons, Dyers & Cleaners

Walter Cherry commenced operations in Claremont c.1911 in a modest way. He had 25 years of previous experience at a Burnley, Lancashire business which stood him in good stead.

According to postal directories the Cherry's had a shop in Bay View Terrace next to Rickard's Shoe Store until 1918.

Made a speciality of dyeing or dry cleaning men's clothes under a process which was a secret closely guarded by the English and the Claremont firms. It did not take customers long to discover the advantages of this special process, and soon the business, grew to such an extent that new premises had to be secured in order to cope with the demands made by ever increasing clients, both male and female.

Had the good fortune (c.1918) to secure premises in Diver-street (later 1-3 St Quentin Avenue). Here he built a commodious dye house and cleaning rooms. In them was erected the most up-to-date machinery for carrying on his business. Adjoining the pressing room was a laboratory which contained many secrets to the art of successful dyeing.

The major source of business came from a shop at 281 Murray Street, Perth in the Queen's Hall Buildings. They also had several country agents.

The Cherry family lived at 1 St Quentin Avenue in a house named Ormerod. Newspaper advertisements listed the address of the head office as 3 St Quentin Avenue.

In later years, the dry cleaning business was apparently moved further west as the United Bus depot on Gugeri Street had parking area that extended right through to St Quentin Avenue.

The business was taken over by Stannards, a well known dry cleaning firm.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-28--4-79

Item type

Photographs

Year

c. 1918

Geotag

-31.982224342217, 115.78091006872
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