Midland Gate Shopping Centre...

WE are very excited that Matthew Pavlinovich has joined Real Estate Plus to assist our Midland marketing division.

Matt is a Midland local and manages the Remember Midland Facebook page that we have previously spoken about in our advertorials.

In his first week working with us, we had an in-depth discussion about Midland and its rich history.

One of the key places we spoke of was the ever-changing Midland Gate Shopping Centre.

Matt provided plenty of interesting information, including that the area bounded by The Crescent, Lloyd Street, Great Eastern Highway and Cale Street was initially predominantly residential.

Within the area was St Andrew’s Hospital, Church of Christ, Shell service station, Midland council depot and the old Midland Railway Company of WA lines.

The development of the Charlie Carters supermarket in the early 70s in what is now Rebel Sport was the first commercial development of its kind in the region.

The Parry’s building, which eventually housed Farmer Jack’s, came a few years later.

Midland Gate opened in March 1980, which featured Coles and Kmart and it wasn’t too long after that the Swan City Shopping Centre opened with Woolworths and Target.

They started as separate centres with Sayer Street dividing them.

The street closed in the early 90s and a pedestrian mall was created, which unofficially merged the Midland Gate and Swan City shopping centres together.

A circus-like structure was the centrepiece and hosted special events for the centres and shelter from the elements for shoppers.

The first expansion of Midland Gate occurred in 1995, with the structure removed and Midland Gate officially absorbing Swan City. The shopping centre that I can remember did not have a circus tent, so it has been interesting to discover more about Midland with Matt’s help.

Here is a photo that Matt provided of Midland Gate in 1980:

Midland Gate 1980

Midland Gate- 1980. Source: The City of Swan Local History Collection.

 

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Midland Gate Shopping Centre...