MILESTONE: Westfield Eastgardens turns 30 (1987)

Above: Two page spread from The Southern Courier in October 1987

Back in 2015, I provided an overview of the opening of Westfield Eastgardens in 1987.

To mark its 30th anniversary, I have managed to scan through copies of the Southern Courier which ran a series of features and advertisements to promote the opening of the centre. The centre was officially opened on October 19, 1987, with 1300 guests invited despite global share markets collapsing around them.

Sydney's "A" list stars were in attendance. NSW Governor Sir James Rowland, John Saunders and Frank Lowy (Westfield) presided over proceedings.  Interest in leasing the space was high with 750 applications made to lease retail space.

Above: Advertisement published in The Southern Courier on October 28, 1987, promoting transport options to the new centre. Some locals were initially unimpressed with transport options.

When the centre opened to the public on October 21, there were protests, but not about the centre itself. Fifty locals protested against changes to bus services in the area. Some services serving the area faced the axe while services to Eastgardens from nearby suburbs were inadequate.

Above: Two advertisements promoting the opening of the Super Kmart Store at Eastgardens as published in The Southern Courier in October 1987.

Super Kmart was unique to Eastgardens. It was a hypermart combining a discount department store and supermarket under one roof, modeled on hypermarts in the United States like Walmart, Target (USA) and Kmart (USA). In 1989, the Super Kmart brand was dropped by parent company Coles Myer. The space was divided into two, forming the current Coles and Kmart stores seen today.

Here were some of the opening specials at Super Kmart:

Below are advertisements for Target and David Jones:

Two years ago I had commented about the impact of the centre on Maroubra Junction retailers. Westfield was confident that normal trading conditions would return to the area, but did not eventuate. Not even the presence of Grace Bros at Marboura Junction helped. Grace Bros fell victim itself!!!

Recently, I went for a drive to Eastgardens. The 1987 signage is still visible today.

And another two advertisements that I found that were published in the lead up to Opening Day.

1987: Westfield Eastgardens Opens

In October 1987, Westfield opened their first major shopping centre in the Eastern Suburbs on the site of the former General Motors - Holden Manufacturing Plant at Pagewood. Here is an advertisement that was published in The St George and Sutherland Shire Leader at the time of its opening.

Source: Westfield. 1987. "Westfield Shoppingtown Eastgardens at Pagewood (Advertisement). " The St George and Sutherland Shire Leader, October 15: 27. 

Westfield Eastgardens is built on what was once the Pagewood Bus Depot factory and the W.D.  & H.O. Wills factory. The site had to be rezoned to allow the development and included crown land. It was seen as a way of stimulating the local economy and provide employment to locals.

The original centre in 1987 was two levels with 150 shops, six-screen cinema, 24-hour medical centre and an international food court that would seat 550. Parking was available for 3000 cars.

The shopping centre like other centres has had an adverse impact on local shopping centres, particularly Maroubra Junction which was the main retail centre for the area. Grace Bros which opened in 1981 became an outlet store for the chain during the 1990s (Good Buys Clearance Store) and closed in 2002 to allow for the construction of Pacific Square Shopping Centre and residential towers.

The shopping centre also led to the creation of Eastgardens as suburb, which was gazetted during the late 1990s. Parts of Pagewood were gazetted into the suburb surrounding the centre.

In 2002, a third level was added taking the total number of shops to around 250. David Jones was the main department store, but was replaced by Myer in 2007 as part of a site swap between the two chains. This also marked a return of Myer-Grace Bros to the southeastern suburbs of Sydney.

Photo taken by the Author.