Stepping Into a Different World
For nearly two centuries, David Jones has been an international innovator and industry leader, inspiring Australians with its legacy of style and excellence. In 2025, David Jones donated its archive to the Powerhouse Museum, marking the beginning of a three year partnership between two iconic institutions committed to investing in the next generation of Australian designers.
The David Jones Archive houses thousands of artefacts and documents, some dating as far back as the 1830s, preserving a remarkable history deeply woven into Australia’s cultural and social identity.
This series invites you into the Archive, bringing its stories to life through the experiences of those connected to David Jones from the 1940s to today.
Gwen Sutton was 16 when she began working at David Jones in 1948. Her memories bring to life the workplace, community, and culture that defined the era.
‘When you went into David Jones, it was a different world. It was just ... overwhelming. ’
I'd been sent to Goulburn boarding school because the Japanese Navy invaded Sydney Harbour and there was quite a bit of a panic. I didn't like it. I was terribly homesick. School and I just didn't get on very well together. So when I left and went to come back home, my father was away at the war — he was a warrant officer in the Tank Corps — I had to go to work. That was what girls had to do. My mother took me into David Jones and I was greeted with open arms and interviewed. I was given the opportunity to be the junior on the Elizabeth Arden counter in the Elizabeth Street store. It was heaven on a stick.
