History

A Brief Overview of Fagg Bros. Company History

Fagg’s is the eighth oldest family business in Australia and it is still owned and managed by direct descendants of its founders. The business has a long and fascinating history. We are at the same time a progressive business which has a total emphasis on customer service and providing value for our customers. Our business has a long history in the Geelong community.

The founders, Samuel Fagg (a clerk) and William Fagg (a carpenter) emigrated to Australia from Deal in England in 1852 during the Ballarat Gold Rush. The business began in 1854 when the brothers went into business as Ironmongers & Builders on the corner of Pakington Street and Russell Street, Newtown (on the site where the Brax Blinds business now stands). The origins of the company are in timber and building supplies but hardware and garden have also become a key part of our business offer.

Combining their skills, the brothers built up a successful ironmongery, building supplies and building business in Chilwell. The business grew to the point where a new site was purchased on the banks of the Barwon River on the corner of Moorabool Street and Barwon Terrace in the early 1860’s, which is still our major trading location.

Over the years, the business grew and prospered. Fagg Bros. had its fair share of disaster and tragedy, with a major fire in 1901 razing the entire South Geelong premises. The business was rebuilt in the early 1900’s, mainly by the sons of Samuel who had joined the business. Major events during the century including the Depression and the two World Wars took their toll on the business and family members, just as they did for every other family in Australia during those times. 

Timber has always been a major strength of our business and we take great pride in the range and quality of our products. The range of timber, doors and building materials held in stock is extensive. We also have an extensive wood machining capability and qualified, experienced machinists.    

In 1965, Fagg’s joined the Mitre 10 marketing and distribution group. Since then, Mitre 10 has been a major part of the business and enabled substantial range and service expansions. Mitre 10 is now part of the Metcash Group that operates IGA Supermarkets around Australia.

In July 2008, Barry & Keith Fagg – through their company Fagg’s Geelong Pty. Ltd. - purchased the trading business of ‘Fagg’s Mitre 10’ from Fagg Bros. Pty. Ltd. which continues as a property company.

Our premises and operations at South Geelong have been substantially expanded over the years. The major building project in 2011 will complete the aim of having our business under the one roof making it one of the largest operations of its type in Geelong.

In 1990, we purchased the existing Mitre 10 store at North Geelong. In 2004, the North Geelong site was subject to a total re-development, resulting in the current premises.

The purchase of Wallington in May, 2011 makes us the largest Hardware and Timber business across Geelong and provides great opportunities for our team across our branches.

A more detailed history of the business has been prepared by Norman Houghton but is not yet published. If anyone reading this page has any information that may be relevant to this history, we encourage you to contact Keith or Barry Fagg