A Centenary Of Hill & Crofts

Hill & Crofts Blayney has reached a major milestone this year celebrating 100 years in business.

In the same year that Australia is producing half of the world’s merino wool, freezing fresh produce was discovered, and farmers were harvesting their crops by hand, a store was opened in a regional area of NSW that would stand the test of time.

Having operated in three locations along Blayney’s main street, the business has been a staple of the town’s rural economy for generations of farmers. It has been handed through thirteen capable owners who have all left a lasting legacy over the years in store and in the community.

Brother duo Edwin Russell Hill and Archibald Usher Hill were the original owners of E.R Hill, as the store was known back then, in 1894 to 1911 when a young Arthur Crofts entered the business, and a new name was donned on the store’s front door – Auctioneering Stock & Station & General Commission Agency.

The store has survived two world wars, multiple plagues and countless natural disasters. The store has remained a stalwart of the community offering support whichever way possible including an offer to depasture over 7000 sheep over night when the First World War broke out.

After the First World War a new partnership was formed in 1918 consisting of Frederick Hill; Hugh Webb; John Glasson & Frederick Row. The name Hill & Crofts was established in 1923.

By now the next generation was eager to take the reins and Arthur’s son Jack Crofts did just that in 1948. Jack successfully ran Hill and Crofts for over 25 years with a highlight of his tenure including the store’s 50-year celebrations.

Over the course of the next 24 years the business changed hands a total of six times to new owners including Ian Speers (1974), Ted Welsh (1978), David DeMontemas (1984), Abby Cain and Kel Butcher (1989), Andrea and Tony Speck with Paul and Bronwyn Halstead (1992) and Tony and Jo Gullifer (1998).

Then in 2001 Angus Pryse Jones and his wife Michelle purchased the business. Having managed the store under the guise of the Gullifers, Angus was officially the proud new owner of Hill and Crofts in 2001.

With an ownership track record extending longer than all but two previous owners Angus and Michelle had outgrown their original location by 2010 and moved to their current location in Adelaide Street where the store sits today.

Since the store’s inception, it is not only the owners who have revolved. Stock on the shelves and the way farming is done has changed significantly as well.

Hill and Crofts withstood the great depression and the green evolution of farming where over the course of the early to mid 1900s technology evolved rapidly resulting in an increase of crop yields. Hybrid crop variations were introduced, and irrigation of crops became a must for farmers wanting to achieve the best return. An article in the region’s newspaper in 1935 writes of the transition towards more horse usage on the land. It reads ‘the horse will play an important part in restoring prosperity to the agricultural industry’¹ as thousands of acres of land is diverted from livestock use to the production of grain crops to feed a growing human population.

A centenary celebration saw the gathering of descendants of many previous owners exchanging memories and stories from their fathers and families. Over 200 customers, contractors and clients gathered filling the store to the brim with happiness and pride. Some of these customers have been loyal clients for many years, a few in particular who are almost as old as the store have been shopping at Hill and Crofts since before they could walk.

The Pryse Jones’s consider it a privilege to be the custodians of the store in its centenary year. They put the store’s success down to the agricultural community of Blayney and surrounding villages whose unwavering support is what has kept the doors open over 100 years.

The importance of this store is realised when you learn it was also the birthplace of Combined Rural Traders (CRT) itself. A few mates around a table at Hotel Canobolas in 1970 dreamed of a business that would provide farmers across NSW, and maybe one day Australia, with a one stop shop for all rural supplies needed to run a successful farm. Today, the original member base of six has evolved into Australia’s largest group of independent rural retailers with over 300 stores throughout the nation.

Hill and Crofts joined the CRT family in 1990 solidifying their position as a reliable stockist and trustworthy source of agricultural information. Representing the CRT group, General Manager Greg O’Neil shared in his pride at the recent celebrations to see the oldest CRT store reach such a major milestone.

A milestone it is to reach a centenary in age. A testament to the owners and community who have stood by two brother’s business venture many seasons ago and a strong farming community that has evolved with technology and time to remain part of Australia’s arguably most productive agricultural region.

¹ ECONOMICAL FARMING. (1931, March 7). Molong Express and Western District Advertiser (NSW : 1887 – 1954), p. 2. Retrieved December 8, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article139673860