An era of Millicent retailing stretching back almost six decades ends this Saturday when the Target Country store closes its doors for the last time.
The purpose-built department store opened as part of the nationwide Coles chain in 1964 and later traded as Fosseys.
The George Street store is one of the latest casualties of Australia’s volatile retail sector, with owner Wesfarmers announcing last May the closure or rebranding of more than 160 sites.
Ninety-two of the 167 Target sites earmarked for change including Hamilton’s store will be converted to Kmart stores while the remainder will close.
The freehold of the Target Country site in Millicent was put on the open market in 2019 for an unspecified sum. It is understood to have been purchased last year by a Millicent family business.
The mixed fortunes of Target Country have been watched by Furner grazier Gwenda Lawlor over the years. After all, it was a decision by store executives at Melbourne headquarters in the mid-1960s which brought a romance into her life.
Ms Lawlor said the foundation manager of the then-Millicent Coles store served only a relatively brief period and management had to find a replacement at short notice.
“The only single manager working for Coles in Victoria at this time was Harry Lawlor,” Ms Lawlor said. “His first day at work was February 14, 1966 when decimal currency was launched and Australia switched from pounds, shillings and pence to dollars and cents.
“Harry was always involved in sport at his various postings and in Millicent he joined the football club and the Millicent Mount McIntyre Cricket Club. “I was working at the ANZ Bank at the time and we met at the Millicent Football Club.”
During their courting days, they would work out-of-hours and arrange displays in the department store. “While in Millicent, Harry secured finance through G.J. Coles Pty. Ltd. and was able to purchase a new Holden HR sedan at Aslin Motors,” Ms Lawlor said.
“We married at St Alphonsus Church in Millicent in 1968 and spent the next 11 years in charge of the Crown Inn Hotel at Kingston. “Between 1979 and Harry’s death in 2012, we ran my family’s farm called Marjong Park at Furner.”
Ms Lawlor is upset the doors of Target Country will be closing on Saturday. “It hurts as it is history that we are losing,” she said.
