Residents, past and present staff gather at Parry’s Narrogin to celebrate much-loved store’s centenary

A small drapery that has grown into one of Narrogin’s best-known stores hosted past and present employees and community members to celebrate its centenary at the weekend.

About 60 people gathered at Parry’s Narrogin on Saturday for afternoon tea to mark the momentous occasion, with dated clothing, newspaper articles, photos and items hung for attendees to relive the retailer’s history.

Owner Jan McKenzie said Parry’s was “an icon in the town” and residents had strongly encouraged her to commemorate the 100-year milestone.

“It’s the community that has kept the shop going, that’s the way I look at it,” she said.

“It’s important to the town because it’s also a community. It’s where people meet up and have a chat — where neighbour meets neighbour. Sometimes I think I ought to have a coffee machine in the shop.”

The Federal Street store was established by William Parry in 1926 as a small drapery, steadily expanding into neighbouring premises as the service grew to provide school uniforms, workwear and babies’ and children’s clothes, with its own footwear and haberdashery section.

Ms McKenzie, who has worked at Parry’s for 38 years and owned it for 12, said there were 25 employees when she started as a junior office girl in March 1988.

Now the shop runs smoothly with only six staff members.

Ms McKenzie said this was because of the retailer downsizing and the fact shoppers now relied more on self-service.

She said there had been several changes over the journey, and for her the biggest shift was when EFTPOS was first introduced.

“Cheques disappeared, people didn’t really need accounts anymore because they’re paying as they’re going — it changed a lot,” she said.