Thomas Arthur McAuley was born in Letterkenny, Ireland on 6 May 1897. He served with the British Imperial Forces from 1914 to 1919 and migrated to Australia after his service.

He started work in Young for Roy Henry who had bought R. Moorhead’s clothing business in 1922.

This was located opposite the Town Hall.

Sometime in 1927, McAuley started a men’s and boy’s outfitter shop on Burrowa Street, next to the Town Hall and was advertising from 3 January 1928.

Earlier this year, Barry Snelson kindly donated this clothing brush to the Young Historical Museum where it is now displayed.

The brush was made in England and displays McAuley’s phone number 372 and his slogan, ‘Where Men Shop’, which he used from the start of his business until the mid-1930s.

He sold sport shirts, silk underwear, socks, ties, handkerchiefs and slippers as well as suits, bath gowns and other garments.

In May 1929, he was granted a hawker’s licence and on Saturday 20 July, he opened a men’s and boy’s wear shop at Grenfell, opposite the Bank of NSW. From the late 1930s, McAuley also sold electrical appliances.

As a bachelor businessman, McAuley donated prizes for ping pong at a Young High School dance fundraiser in August 1928.

That year he also attended the first bachelors’ ball held since 1922.

He also played tennis. He married a fellow storekeeper, Elizabeth Bradshaw at Woollahra in 1930.

Elizabeth had been ‘in partnership with her brother Arthur in a furniture business in Boorowa Street’. She and her brother were originally from Manchester, England.

‘The McAuley’s took an active part in helping the young British migrant boys to become assimilated into the Australian way of life.

As more young men became employed on the land in the Young district, their premises became a meeting place and Mrs McAuley became a foster mother to them.’

Thomas enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force in 1941 and served in Australia for the duration of World War II.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth continued to run the shop and became the Treasurer of the local Women’s Voluntary Services.

‘She organised and maintained the “War Chest” in her shop and had a remarkable number of housewives “doing their bit at home”, knitting for the servicemen.

She maintained correspondence with relatives of migrants and servicemen besides practicing philanthropy to a generous degree.’ She also undertook home nursing qualifications.

The McAuley’s retired from their shop in the mid-1960s according to the Australian Electoral Roll.

In early June 1974, the McCauley’s had their belongings auctioned from their Nasmyth St home, before moving into ‘Weeroona’ aged care facility in Cowra.

Elizabeth died at the end of the month and Thomas died in August 1975.