A Little about us .... 



Inverell is fortunate to be well represented by many independent retail shops. One of these businesses, The Premier Store, has long stood the test of time. Celebrating 150 years in 2018, it could be argued The Premier Store is Australia’s oldest continuously running business of its type still operating from its original location.
The first business on the site started in 1867 when F.B Mulligan built a ‘neat weatherboard building’ which is still standing today and operates as a Café/Bar/Restaurant called The General Merchant. The following year Mulligan built a larger premises next door across the laneway which apart from the brief period of construction of the current building has operated as a general or department store to this present day.
Through its history there has been a number of significant events taken place with the building and business. The building from which The Premier Store operates today was built by a Jewish businessman, Mr Ernie Roos who arrived in Australia from San Francisco in the 1870s. Roos who was probably attracted to Inverell through his interest in gems, bought a business in 1896 on the current buildings site. The old 1868 built “main” store building was obviously inadequate for Roos’ requirements so he entered into a curious arrangement with his sister-in-law, the then landowner of the site at the time. Roos built the store at his own expense in return for not having to pay rent for 25 years. This agreement outlived them both. An article in the 1901 Inverell Times described the building as the “handsome business block in Byron-street” and the “architecture, which is Iconic in style, must strike the observer very forcibly as being unique and attractive”. The foundations of the store were reported as being strong enough to permit a 6-storey building should the need arise.
Five years after building the store, Roos sold the business to Messrs Pepper and Cutcher. In 1913 Mr Cutcher decided to sell his interest to Mr Pepper. The store was later purchased in 1924 by Mr Fuller and Mr Meyer who had both worked in the store for some time. The business which had a strong emphasis on the country farming community flourished during this period. Mr Meyer died in 1941 and several years later a partnership was offered to Mr Stan Gunson. In 1955 a Proprietary Limited Company was formed with Mr Fuller and Mr Gunson having equal shares and a store employee Mr Joe Ferris a 5% share interest. During this time Mr Ferris became heavily involved in the management of the company. In 1961 Mr Fuller passed away due to cancer of the throat after maintaining a total service of 54 years. Mr Ferris was bequeathed Mr Fuller’s interests in the business and three years later when Mr Gunson decided to retire, Mr Ferris obtained long-term finance to purchase his shares. The last name change of the business occurred in 1975 when Mr Ferris decided to call the business Premier Inverell Pty Ltd because of a long history of the firm being referred to as “The Premier store”. Mr Ferris died in 1985 and with his wife, Jean, dying just four months later. Ownership of the business and property was passed on to their children. Of which the youngest, David Ferris, now has 100% ownership of the business.
The Ferris family has long had a long association with the store. Apart from Joe’s parents being long term customers, at least two of his brothers also worked at the store from the early 1930’s. Joe himself started work at the store at an early age. Falsifying his age he enlisted in the army at seventeen and spent most of the war as a POW at Changi and on the infamous Burma railway. Interrupted by the war and a brief period in New Zealand, Joe worked continuously at the store until his death.
The Premier Store is still focused on serving the community and after finding out Kwong Sings department store was to close in nearby Glen Innes in 2014, Mr David Ferris decided to purchase the business. Now with his wife, Margaret who manages the store, he believes that the business has a just as an important part to play in Glen Innes as the main store has in Inverell.
While David has had 100% shares in the business since 2004 it was not until 2019 that he purchased the remaining interests in the property. With David Ferris’s son and fathers namesake, Joe, working in the business full time and his daughter Lydia regularly returning to work between interstate study periods, together with Margaret managing the Glen Innes business, The Premier Stores can truly be regarded as a locally owned family business.