After nearly 50 years, Penhalluriack’s hardware store in Caulfield (Pens), a true Melbourne institution, is on the market. This isn’t just any hardware store; it’s the legacy of Frank Penhalluriack, the man who single-handedly brought seven-day trading to Victoria, forever changing the retail landscape.
Penhalluriack’s journey began close to five decades ago when a trip to America inspired him to open his Hawthorn Road shop on Sundays. This seemingly simple act sparked a six-year legal battle in the 1980s against laws barring Sunday trading for certain goods. Frank refused to pay accumulating fines, which eventually reached a staggering $500,000. He even famously plastered the summonses on his shopfront window.
His defiance led to 19 days in prison and police seizing goods for auction. However, locals and friends rallied, even hijacking the auction by paying with sacks of 20-cent pieces. In 1988, Penhalluriack won a decisive court battle, prompting then-Premier John Cain to change the law, a move soon followed by NSW.
Frank, now 83, suspects over a million people have made purchases at his store. He even claims credit for the beloved Bunnings sausage sizzle, stating his store offered them for free on “illegal” trading Sundays. The expansive property at 345 Hawthorn Road, Caulfield, spans 7634 sq m and could be worth up to $30 million. While Frank would happily hold onto it, he believes it’s time, hoping it will be redeveloped into a hospital, medical centre, and aged care facility – a much-needed addition to the area.
And it doesn’t take a boy genius to work out that it’s the prohibitive land tax and payroll tax that are killing the business, not just Bunnings. Like Capone before him, the laws of prohibition couldn’t stop him, but they got him on unpaid federal taxes.