Then up spoke bold Carolyn*, the keeper of the door, “This is a shop for everyone, however rich or poor. There is nowhere to shop better, in Gingin or the state, than the Treasure Trove, now open! Make sure you are not late (for our beautiful bargains, obviously!)
Once upon a time, because that’s the way all good stories start, Gingin had a Red Cross Op shop. For no obvious reason in 2013 the op shop was shut, which surprised and dismayed the people who worked there, and caused aggravation to those who relied on getting a bargain in the op shop. Money can be very tight in small rural towns and the other ‘cheap’ shops are a long drive away.
Some of the ladies who had worked in the ex-shop, along with other Ginginites, decided that they could and would do better.
A shed, which could be rented cheaply, was found and a community meeting called — a slightly surprising number of people turned up. Oddly, some of them had never been in an op shop before, but they understood the need and were prepared to volunteer to make the replacement op shop a success.
In August 2013, after an enormous amount of cleaning and fettling, the Gingin Community Op Shop The Treasure Trove @ Gingin opened! It was an immense effort on the part of the people put together the necessary fixture and fittings on a nil budget — they are the heroes of this story.
From the beginning, there was a determination that the shed shop behind the Gull servo would be the absolute best op shop it could possibly be. For nine years around thirty volunteers have worked to keep the shop open for three hours a day, six days a week. Customers quickly noticed the quality preloved clothes and a myriad of other clean treasures at very reasonable prices. Not only did the shop attract customers from across locally and from Perth, it also attracted lots of wonderful donations —recycling, upcycling and repurposing had finally become fashionable.
The Treasure Trove has been able to supply surplus items to Paraquad in Perth, and to remote op shops around Warburton. It also supplies Wheelchairs for Kids with soft toys and shop volunteers cut unsalable clothes into rags which have great value.
It was a founding principle of TT@G that after the bills were paid, monies generated should be used to support the people within the voluntary groups in the Shire, via grants, and that a ‘building’ fund be accumulated for the day when the shop could move out of the shed.
Giving away money has been relatively easy because the grant forms are so simple. There are hardly any groups in Gingin that have not benefitted. Some grants have been quite large — the community car, the new playground and the school chaplaincy —and others smaller, such as the Anzac Day Gunfire Breakfast and the 150th Anniversary duck race.
Saving money for a new shop and finding suitable premises has been much more difficult. There have been empty blocks, but none entirely suitable and residents don’t necessarily want an op shop next door. The old fire station, when vacated, was an obvious choice but it has taken six interminable years to get from that idea to reality. Six years and a great deal of planning and paperwork (thanks Kate Watson and Trevor Phillips), building work (thanks Shane Troy) and money to make it happen. The TT@GG finally became lease holders of the old fire station in November 2022. The building work started almost immediately and the final piece of paper, the Certificate of Occupancy was received at the beginning of April 2023. Over a frenetic 10 days, including Easter weekend, the shed shop was moved, lock, stock and fittings by the volunteers and their partners. The lovely new community op shop opened in the Old Fire Station on Monday 17th April.
It’s still a little bit of a work in progress, there are things which will change and oddly it’s slightly weird working with so much space however it’s a shining example of what a community group, working together, can achieve. If you haven’t been for a look already, please come and say ‘Hi’ to The Treasure Trove @ Gingin at 13 Robinson Street soon because this isn’t the end of the story, it’s just the beginning of a new chapter.
* Carolyn Brodie Hall – Chairperson
