History of Bursill's Shop
Don Topham and Pat McGoldrick behind the counter of Bursills Shop in 1950 CAHS.
Location: 221 Queen Street, Campbelltown NSW 2560
The Bursill family had a strong retail presence in Campbelltown since convict labourer and pioneer, William Bursill built a general store here in 1842. A two-storey sandstone building fashioned in the Georgian Style, the building still stands at 292 Queen Street and is one of four iconic colonial terraces at the southern end of town. It was sold to William Fowler in 1850, who added space for a Post Office.
The Bursill family would move away to the goldfields shortly after their son Samuel, the tenth of fourteen children, was born in 1850. They did however keep some property here and investments in the town.
Samuel married Mercy Poulter in 1874 in Gulgong. Mercy was noted for having “a lovely singing voice” and would be heavily involved in the local presbyterian church. They had couple of small businesses in the goldfields and Woollahra. Samuel returned to his hometown in around 1892 and built a store to the left of the Bank of NSW before moving on to build a second shop at 221 Queen Street. This store, completed in 1895, sold produce and incorporated a residence upstairs.
Bursill’s store was famous for a carpet snake that the family used to keep rodent numbers under control. To some people it was a source of excitement but brought terror to those not fond of these legless reptiles!
A civic minded man, Samuel was elected to council in a 1903 by-election. A supporter described him as a “strong personality, unflinching, fearless character [with] a useful knowledge”. After he became mayor in 1909 his son Samuel junior, took over the running of the store partnering with friends and relations Fred Rider and George King. Besides produce they sold builder's hardware and were an agent for Chrysler cars and Plymouth trucks.
Later, Samuel junior's son, Samuel William, joined him in the business at the age of eighteen. Known as Bill Bursill he worked hard and took over the business upon his father’s retirement in 1945.
Although much has changed, the high-up façade of Sam Bursill’s building of 1895 can still be seen today.
Oral history of Bursill's Shop
Excerpt of: oral histories about early Campbelltown with Susan Chandler and the infamous carpet snake at Bursill's.
Campbelltown Library · Susan Chandler remembers the infamous carpet snake
Image gallery of Bursill's Shop