By Tyler Wright
In sad news for the Hills community, the Tecoma PWP (Parents without Partners) Op Shop is set to shut its doors next month after decades as a beloved haunt in the area.
Store manager, Norma Boyse, said the decision was a “hard one to make”.
“I’m retiring because I’ve done 20 years,” Norma said.
“A lack of staff, and unfortunately public liability and with all the incidentals outside costing more and more; we’re not making as much as we used to to support the charity.“
The Tecoma PWP Op Shop has been a part of the community for over four decades; finding its home on Burwood Highway past the local bakery, and then moving to a spot past the pizza shop in 1982.
Tecoma’s resident fashionista, Michelle Treblico, or Veteran Vamp as she is known as on social media, even did a stint working at the store.
“There’s a lot of people that I’ve made friends with and I’ve known that probably customers that I’ll probably keep in contact with,“ Norma said.
“I’ve had a lot of good times and a lot of good laughs, and some people call in and just want to have a chat, and sometimes some call in and have a chat and sit down, have a cup of tea.
“We get people from Narre Warren, Pakenham, Boronia; we had a girl on Monday who came from towards the city; so we get a lot.“
Norma said in the time the store has been located on Sandells Road, there have been 36 other staff that have come and gone, with the number now down to 12 or 13.
“There’s a lot of op shops I’ve heard that are struggling for staff at the moment.
“We used to put a sign on the door but then people say, ’oh yeah, we’ll come, we’ll work’ and they don’t show up.
“It makes it hard.“
Norma also said the cost of disposing rubbish from donations left from people on the front verandah has posed a battle; with rubbish removal costs amounting to up to $6,000 a year.
“On Mondays, the whole front verandah is usually full of stuff, but unfortunately, sometimes it’s not good quality that you can sell,“ she said.
“We try to recycle everything we can…one year [over Christmas] we had 2000 kilos of rags in two weeks.“
One of the remaining volunteers, Lindsay Reid, has been working at the op shop for three years; cleaning CDs and DVDs that come through the doors.
“I make sure everything I put out is cleaned and not scratched or not a pirate copies or burnt copies… I’ve had a good time,“ Lindsay said.
“I don’t really want it to close…it’s the end of an era for the local community.“
Lindsay said regulars, including local icon Baba Desi, have come through the shop’s doors over the years; with laughs shared between staff and customers.
“It’s been good working with all the ladies here, we’re like one big family.“
With the future of the shop now in the hands of the Parents without Partners head office – which runs out of Ballarat – Norma hopes another local charity will take over the space.
“A lot of people come in and they said ’that’s our favourite op shop, what are we going to do?’ so hopefully someone else takes it over, that’s all I can say.
“[People are] saying ’oh, we’ll go to the council, I’ll go to the local member of parliament,’ and you think ’well, that’s not going to change anything, unfortunately.’
“It’s just sad; but unfortunately times move on and health doesn’t prevail, [so you can’t] do what you want to do.“
The op shop will officially shut its doors on Friday 1 September, with a sign at the front of the store advertising a closing down sale to mark the occasion.
“All priced items 1/2 priced,“ the sign reads.
“DVDs $1.00 each CDs 50 cents each. All books $1.00. Kids books 50 cents.“
Everything else is half priced except plants and bird houses and wooden coasters, the sign reads.
“We thank you for all of your patronage over the years.“
Norma said the reason the community have flocked to the store over the years has been the cheap cost of items; from elegant gowns to kitchen goods and records.
“The prices are still reasonable, like an old time op shop,“ Norma said.
“A lot of them have, unfortunately, prices have skyrocketed up, but it just depends on what area you’re in and how much rent you’re paying.“
Tecoma PWP Op Shop is located at 89 Sandells Road in Tecoma.
