50 Years of the Mundaring Mall
Owen Briffa - Museum Curator
The Mundaring Hardware (right) Radford’s Real Estate (left), c.1971 - Courtesy of Ivy Ashman
This December marks 50 years since Mundaring's retail landscape changed forever with the opening of the Mundaring Mall Shopping Centre.
The Mundaring Mall, the first neighbourhood shopping centre in the Shire of Mundaring was built on the site of the J. Radford & Associates Real Estate Office and Mundaring Hardware site.
The Mall was officially opened on 1st December 1973 by MLA Jim Moiler. The opening of the $5,500,000 Mundaring Mall, coincided with the 1973 Maid of the Mountains beauty pageant.
The Mundaring Mall was developed when former Perth Lord Mayor Tom Wardle, owner of the "Tom the Cheap" Supermarket and Variety Chain, aimed to establish a presence in the Shire of Mundaring. The Italiano family secured the venture, leading to the Mall's opening. Unfortunately, "Tom the Cheap" faced financial troubles within months and went bankrupt. Undeterred, the Italiano family rebounded by opening a Foodland Store in its place, ensuring the ongoing success of Mundaring Mall.
“a milestone in the shire’s progress” - Jim Moiler MLA
The Mundaring Mall was originally home to:
- Tom the Cheap Grocer
- Italiano Brothers Greengrocer
- Bank of New South Wales
- Tip Top Meats
- Mundaring Hardware
- Maltronics TV and Radio
- Forrest Keep Furniture
- Maudesley Drycleaners
- Baby's World
- Cafe-Deli
Over the years the Mall has seen many changes and many shop come and go. Brian Bush was a school holiday fixture for many years with his snake displays and presentations.
Between 2002 and 2004 the Mundaring Mall underwent a major transformation which saw most of the original mall demolished to make way for a new Action Supermarket and more recently the Woolworths Supermarket was extended to accommodate an extended range.
