Since its construction in 1891, the Strand Arcade has been the home of bespoke boutiques. Custom fashion and finery was the specialty of many of the stores — as it remains today — and attracted the upper echelons of Sydney society to its ornate halls. Shopping was a common pastime for ‘genteel’ ladies (the wives of civil servants, professional men and judges), and the elaborate promenade of the Strand Arcade provided the perfect spot for high society to convene in the late afternoon. It’s little wonder so many of the Strand’s early stores were occupied with catering to their customer’s indulgent lifestyles.  

Along with milliners, boot makers and bespoke tailors, the early Arcade was home to a unique mix of food boutiques and stores selling oddities and trinkets. In many ways, the retail ethos of the early Strand Arcade isn’t that different from the Strand of today — it’s still dedicated to preserving craftsmanship and tradition. Below, we take a trip down memory lane, looking back on the Strand Arcade’s earliest stores.  

E.H Harris & Company 

Once housed in the Royal Arcade, E.H Harris & Company was one of Australia’s first coffee roasteries. Having started the business in 1883, Edgar Harris made a name for himself in the 1900s selling tea and coffee out of his Strand Arcade shop front. The company remained in the Strand Arcade for close to a century and continues to operate as a coffee merchant today.     

B.O Lane 

There were fruit vendors, then there was B.O Lane. Selling high quality fruit at a fair price, B.O Lane was famous for its fruit salad. Tossed with icing sugar, according to the buyer’s taste, then topped with pure, rich cream, the so-called salads were closer to desserts, and understandably became the fruit merchant’s signature. 

La Maison Parisienne 

The upper echelons had to be outfitted accordingly, and in a time where travelling abroad entailed a lengthy journey by sea, retailers that exported European finery were few and far between. La Maison Parisienne filled that gap, stocking “the latest novelties from Paris and London, including gloves, hosiery, fancy handkerchiefs and evening fans,” according to an early advertisement.  

Stewart Dawson and Co. 

The Strand Arcade is known for its jewellery offering today, and those bejewelled origins can be traced back to the 1890s. Stewart Dawson and Co. brought watches, diamonds and jewellery to the Arcade in 1892, claiming to offer “the most recherché stock in the Southern Hemisphere,” as per an advertisement taken out in Town and Country Journal.