Millers Ltd.
Biography
Millers was founded in 1924 by Leslie Beaumont Miller in Greymouth on the west coast of New Zealand. By 1928 Millers had expanded to Christchurch with two retail sites. Seeking to expand his drapery business further in Christchurch, Leslie Miller acquired a site at 163-173 Tuam Street. George Alfred James Hart was hired to design the building Miller wanted and Campbell and Morrison were employed as the engineers.
The building Hart designed was the first in New Zealand to feature beamless concrete floor slabs. These were supported by hexagonal columns which were set apart at length to create a spacious retail environment.
The escalator was designed by Carl Flohr and Co. of Berlin, constructed in England and assembled in Christchurch. It was the first to be installed in the South Island and the longest escalator in New Zealand.
The ground floor and the first floor of the building were dedicated to retail and office space. The ground floor also featured a milk bar with a tea lounge set on an upper gallery. The second and third floors of the building were for manufacturing. The fourth floor was for staff recreation. This floor housed a cafeteria, dining room and provided space for games such as indoor bowls, ping pong, tennis and basketball. The roof also was used for staff recreation and housed a custodian’s apartment.
The building was completed in 1939. Later in that year, with the declaration of war, the company was responsible for the manufacturing of military uniforms for the New Zealand Army. After the war, Millers expanded, opening stores throughout the South Island of New Zealand.
Leslie Miller died in 1960 and his son Reginald ran the business, opening their flagship factory on Wairekei Road in 1970. They introduced the Dial A Curtain service in 1980, with van-based furnishing consultants. In 1993 Reginald’s son Geoff took the reins as Managing Director working with his wife Jill. As of 2022 Millers Ltd operates as a custom curtain and blind business.
Found in 64 Collections and/or Records:
Advertisements and News Clippings, 1939-2010
Newspaper clippings, mostly pasted into large volumes, featuring advertising for Millers Ltd products in The Press and The Christchurch Star. A number of these clippings are loose within the volumes with some unbound in folders.
Advertising for Millers Ltd products, 1960-1980
Printed advertisements for Millers Ltd. products. Includes photocopies of newspaper adverts advertising Millers Gigantic Removal Sale circa 1960 and original colour advertising leaflets advertising Suit Offers at Millers circa 1970s.
Artwork by Raymond Morris, 2011
Framed watercolour painting of the Millers Ltd. buildling on Tuam Street by Christchurch artist Raymond Morris.
Company history, 1931-1990
Documents relating to the history of Millers Ltd including the original Memorandum of Lease for the first Millers site in Christchurch, souvenier booklets and various versions of typed histories. Also includes materials printed with captions for use as part of a display documenting the history of the company.
Company History display materials, 1939-1940
Crowd buying towels at Millers, 1944
Black and white photograph of crowds at Millers Ltd. buying towels in 1940 with ration books.
Dial A Curtain Millers vans, 1980s
Colour print showing a line up of Millers custom logo vans for the Dial A Curtain service established by Reginald Miller in the 1980s.
Display Department memo, 1960-1979
Internal typescript memo from David Matheson, Millers Display Manager [circa 1960-1979] to Branch Managers regarding the use of in store display tickets as part of red arrow special promotions at Millers Ltd.
Display Department records, 1960-1979
Records of operational activities by the Display Department at Millers Ltd. Includes a file of concept drawings for window displays, including a hand drawn concept, and a memo from the display department.
Display Ideas Millers Ltd., 1960-1979
Photographs, mostly in colour, of window and in store displays of clothing and fabric at Millers Ltd. Many of the photographs show the pricing of individual items. Possibly compiled by David Matheson, Display Manager for Leslie Beaumont Miller.