Summary

Black and white negative, taken by Laurie Richards, of the opening of the Waltons store at 206 Bourke Street, Melbourne on 22 October, 1964.
Large crowds stand at the doors of the city store waiting to shop at its opening sale.
Coles and Foys department stores are visible in the background.

One of approximately 85,000 negatives from the Laurie Richards Collection taken by the Melbourne based Laurie Richards Studio between the 1950s -1970s.

Laurie Richards was a professional photographer who began his career as a photo-journalist, working for the Advertiser newspaper in Adelaide, and the Argus and the Herald newspapers in Melbourne. In 1953, he opened his own business and set up a photographic studio at his home at 4 Tower Avenue, Alphington, an inner suburb of Melbourne. At its peak, in the late 1960s, the Laurie Richards Studio was one of Melbourne's pre-eminent commercial photographic studios, employing twelve photographers. The Laurie Richards Studio worked mainly in advertising and public relations, and had a broad clientele which included commercial companies, government institutions and the entertainment industry.

Description of Content

Large white store with a WALTONS sign. People crowd at the front, spilling onto the road, waiting for the store to open.

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