For more than 100 years the Australian corner shop was an institution for millions of Australians. More than a simple shop, it was the heart of many neighbourhoods.
These days you can buy anything with the click of a button, but nothing replaces that memory of walking into your corner shop to spend pocket money on lollies or having a chat while grabbing a loaf of bread.
So, in this series of Back In Time For The Corner Shop, Annabel Crabb is on hand to help Carol and Peter Ferrone and their children Julian, Sienna and Olivia navigate the highs and lows of being shopkeepers through 150 years of Australian history.
Carol Ferrone is thrilled when she gets to drive a shiny family car, but this new freedom of mobility also spells trouble for the humble corner store. For the first time consumers can fill their car boots (and new fridges) to the brim with groceries purchased from the supermarket.
While the Ferrones’ shop embraces a new range of mass-produced goods, including sliced bread, they must also diversify to keep customers loyal and interested. Continental deli meats, lollies, milkshakes and flowers are all attempts to bring shoppers through the door and away from ‘one-stop-shop’ supermarkets. During all this, Australia does away with the pound and the Ferrones must tackle currency decimalisation.
The 1960s is an era of cultural and social change, teenagers start to form a sense of identity that challenges the control of their parents. Linda Burney, the Minister for Indigenous Australians, visits the store to talk to the Ferrones about the impact of the 1967 Referendum on First Nations Australians.
Production credit: Produced by Warner Bros. International Television Production for the ABC. WarnerBros. Head of Entertainment Caroline Swift. Warner Bros. Supervising Executive Producer Nicole Rogers. Executive Producer Clare Bath. ABC Acting Head of Factual Richard Huddleston. ABC Factual Manager Julie Hanna. ABC Executive Producer Madeleine Hawcroft.
All episodes of the previous series, Back In Time For Dinner and Further Back In Time For Dinner are available to watch on ABC iview.
