Charles Parsons has a rich and a proud past. We honour it not
only for how it defines us today, but also for the way it points to
our future.
We go by the name of the man who started the business in 1915,
and it is now four generations of Charles Parsons who have steered
this company over nearly 100 years, to become the most formidable
of fabric houses in Australasia.
Charles Parsons recognised very early in the business' history
that the strength of the business lay in the commitment and
expertise of his staff, and whether the challenges of World Wars,
the 1930s depression or just the ever-changing competitive
landscape, it was the Charles Parsons team that always made the
difference.
1915 Charles Leslie Parsons establishes
Charles Parsons & Co. at Kent House, Liverpool Street, Sydney
with plant and machinery worth 270 pounds, plus outstanding orders
and invoices for 842 pounds.
1918 Charles Parsons takes over William
Heron & Co, Woolen Merchants. This was the first of more than
50 acquisitions.
1930 The Great Depression and faced with
losses and bad debts, the Company knows it will struggle to meet
the payroll. Charles L Parsons resigns himself to laying off
members of his 20 full time staff. Notices are served with regret,
yet workers are reinstated when all remaining staff offer to work
on reduced pay. "We've got a fine team here. If we're going to go
down, we'll go down with the colours flying." Full wages restored
by end 1931.
1930s & 40s Charles Parsons continued to
experience sustained growth through the next 2 decades, moving to
larger premises and building an infrastructure to support its
continued growth.
By 1955, Charles Parsons has operations in
every mainland state. Charles Riviere Parsons was becoming a
respected force in the industry and by 1958, had assumed the role
of Managing Director.
In the 1960s, Charles Parsons pioneered an
in-house laboratory to
comprehensively test fabrics and began exporting to New
Zealand.