As you battle the shops in the lead-up to Christmas this year, spare a thought for customers in days gone by who also experienced pressure to provide traditional Christmas items for their families. One business in the local area that experienced a high demand during the Christmas period of 1944 was J.W. Berry’s smallgoods shop.
Berry’s was well-known in Ipswich as a place to purchase high-quality products. The shop was regarded as one of the biggest and most modern of its type in Queensland. Locals were able to buy a large range of foodstuffs including poultry, fish, sausages, chops, steaks, rabbits and joints as well as pickles and tinned delicacies. As you would expect, bacon and ham were popular products, especially around Christmas time when sales figures for cooked hams skyrocketed.
Nicholas Street, looking north from Brisbane Street, Ipswich, Queensland, early 1950s – Image courtesy of Picture Ipswich
During the last Christmas period of World War 2, demand for half-hams was particularly strong. On 19 December 1944, there was such a rush to purchase this product a couple of women had their clothes torn as they attempted to enter Berry’s. A great deal of congestion occurred in the area because so many customers attempted to enter the shop while others tried to leave. On the footpath outside, a one-legged man on crutches ended up in the gutter after venturing too close to the action. Alas, the presence of a police officer was not sufficient to contain the eagerness of the customers.
Not surprisingly, the employees were extremely busy trying to serve all the enthusiastic customers and a slight increase in staff numbers was needed in order to help the many hundreds of customers keen to purchase their seasonal requirements.
On 20 December 1944, the hams were made available for sale for three hours at the smallgoods shop in Nicholas Street. After the events of the previous day, two police officers were present to maintain order. Even so, with the rush to acquire this desirable product, two women needed medical assistance. The ambulance was called and thankfully both women quickly recovered. It was reported by observers that around 200 women travelled from Brisbane in order to purchase hams for their Christmas meals. The shop manager noted that prior to the war they usually sold around 5,000 complete hams. However, in December 1944 he believed that if he could obtain 15,000 to 20,000 hams he would be able to sell them all.
The manager predicted that the demand for half-hams and bacon would continue to intensify in the lead up to Christmas. With this expectation, on 21 December 1944 police were again on duty at Berry’s, arriving at the premises thirty minutes before the shop commenced business for the day.
‘J.W. Berry, Ipswich’s Smallgoods Specialist’, Queensland Times, 19 September, 1939, p.8
Surging Crowds of Women Battle for Ham and Bacon, Queensland Times, 21 December 1944, p. 2