Millie Tallis
Millie Tallis | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 November 1874 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 9 August 1933 (aged 58) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Burial place | Box Hill Cemetery |
| Occupation | actress |
| Known for | developing the op shop concept in Australia in the 1920's |
| Spouse | Sir George Tallis (m. 1988) |
| Family | Florence Maude Young (sister) |
Amelia Hannah Tallis, Lady Tallis (née Young; 1 November 1874 – 9 August 1933) was an Australian actress and philanthropist.
She is best known for adopting and developing the "op shop" concept in Australia.[1][2] The term "op shop" is attributed to Tallis.[3]
Early life
Young was born in the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood.[4] Born to Henry Henrard Young and his wife Elizabeth (née Tonkin), she was a younger sister to Florence Maude Young.[1][4]
In her youth, Tallis was active in Melbourne's theatre community and had roles in numerous stage productions, predominantly those in the burlesque and comic opera genre. Among her credits were productions of Matsa: Queen of Fire, La Grande Duchesse, The Sign of the Cross, and Djin-Djin, Djin-Djin.[5][6][7][8]
She also played Robin Hood in Babes in the Wood alongside Ada Reeve who played Maid Marian.[9][10]
Philanthropy
Upon her marriage in 1898, Tallis retired from acting and instead concentrated on her philanthropic work which is what she became best known for.[1]
In 1925, she helped raise funds for Melbourne's St Vincent's Hospital in the suburb of Fitzroy by setting up a pop-up store to sell used goods.[1] Although based on the thrift shop or goodwill store concept, Tallis considered that those types of stores were stigmatised as for being exclusively for poor people, and stocking inferior goods.[1]
Therefore, Tallis established an "opportunity shop" at an abandoned cyclorama building which was officially opened by the acting mayoress of Fitzroy on 19 November 1925.[11]
With over 10,000 items for offer, Tallis ensure the goods she acquired were of high quality with products including from artworks, furniture, books, bedding, kitchenware, gardening utensils as well as fresh produce.[1]
The store raised £300 in the first three hours of it being open and after nine weeks of trade, raised more than £2000 for the hospital which was used to purchase new beds and X-ray equipment.[1]
For her philanthropy, Tallis later became a life governor of the hospital.[1]
Personal life and death
In a small ceremony on 8 September 1898 at St Peter's Anglican Church in Melbourne, Millie Young married theatrical entrepreneur George Tallis who was best known for his association with J. C. Williamson's theatre company.[12][13]
Tallis died at her Mornington home on 9 August 1933 at the age of 58.[14] She was buried at Box Hill Cemetery.[15]
Her husband died 15 years later.[16]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Razak, Iskhandar (18 October 2025). "As the Australian op shop turns 100, the legacy of Lady Millie Tallis lives on". ABC News. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
- ^ Watson, Joey; Lyons, Gabrielle (12 January 2020). "How op shops shed their stigma and won the hearts of hip, eco-conscious consumers". ABC News. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
The term "op shop" was invented in Australia in the 1920s by a former Melbourne showgirl, Lady Millie Tallis. She wanted to give the thrift shop a more dignified name, so she coined the term "opportunity shop", or op shop.
- ^ Astle, David (15 November 2019). "Wordplay: What a load of rummage". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
Opportunity, say, was never meant to be opportunity, not when it came to chipped ceramics and saggy jackets. Lady Millie Tallis, a former Melbourne showgirl, coined the term by accident – or design. In 1925, seeking to raise funds for a new X-ray unit, Millie acquired a vacant cyclorama (the panoramic precursor to cinema) as a space to stage the world's first "opportunity shop. In name at least. Lady Tallis borrowed the word from French, where the cobbled squares of Paris hosted the odd "magasin d'occasion – or bargain shop. Yet "occasion" also translates as opportunity, and that's the ad-spin option Millie preferred. Elsewhere, the same enterprise is dubbed a charity shop (UK) or thrift store (US).
- ^ a b "Birth certificate: Amelia Hannah Young". Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria. 2025. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
Place of event: Collingwood, Australia
- ^ "Footlights and footnotes: Shows to see". The Champion. 23 January 1897. p. 3. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
Miss Millie Young...is Zelica, the Arabian princess...
- ^ "The Queen's Theatre: La Grande Duchesse". The Age. 9 June 1897. p. 8. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
- ^ "Princess's Theatre: The Sign of the Cross". The Age. 8 July 1897. p. 8. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
- ^ "Princess's Theatre: DJIN-DJIN, DJIN-DJIN". The Age. 31 October 1898. p. 12. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
- ^ "Princess's Theatre: The Babes In The Wood". The Age. 15 April 1898. p. 8. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
- ^ "Babes in the Wood (cast list)". The Lorgnette: A Journal of Amusements. 2 June 1898. p. 6. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
- ^ "A charitable novelty: Opportunity shop at the Cyclorama buildings". The Advocate. 26 November 1925. p. 11. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
- ^ Colligan, Mimi (1990). "Sir George Tallis (1869–1948)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
- ^ "A wedding of unusual interest". Table Talk. 16 September 1898. p. 3. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
- ^ "Lady Tallis did much for charity". The Sun News-Pictorial. 10 August 1933. p. 30. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
- ^ "Late Lady Tallis buried: Well-known men act as pallbearers". The Sun News-Pictorial. 11 August 1933. p. 3. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
- ^ "Sir George Tallis: Death severs theatre link". The Sun News-Pictorial. 17 August 1948. p. 2. Retrieved 18 October 2025.