By Grace Whiteside,Tayla Larsen

Copyright abc

As customers browse clothing racks, a reminder of yesteryear hangs above. The sound of it once whizzing overhead is now just a memory, replaced by the beeping of a touch-screen register.

It’s a flying-fox change dispenser — the last in Queensland — and the relic is helping to keep history alive in a 103-year-old shop in Gayndah, four hours’ drive north of Brisbane.

After sitting empty for 18 months, the shop now has a new tenant — crisis support service Lifeline.

“The building is heritage-listed, and we’ve tried to keep true to that in our styling and changes that we’ve made to the store,” Kylie Brogden, Lifeline’s regional business manager, said.

The flying-fox device was typically found in department stores from the 1940s to send cash and receipts between the front counter and back office.

It ran on taut wires strung above the customers’ heads.

When customers paid for their goods, a shop assistant packed their money and docket into a small wooden cup and attached it to the flying fox.

They then pulled back a spring-loaded handle, which propelled it up to the cash desk.

Staff in the cashier’s office then counted out the correct change and sent it back in the wooden cup along the wires.

While it may have been superseded by EFTPOS machines and electronic registers, it represents a time when the retail space was a meeting ground for locals and bolstered the town’s economy.

The site had operated as a drapery for more than a century and was a staple in the small community which lays claim to being the oldest town in Queensland.

Many residents have fond memories of the building, none more than John Mellor.

The shop was in his family for 51 years, trading as Mellors Drapery and Haberdashery.

“It’s been my life,” he said.

The flying fox was added to the Queensland Heritage Register in 1994 and holds a special place in Mr Mellor’s heart.

“When we had a new girl start, I’d always get a frog or a mouse and put it in the cup … that’s one of my party tricks,” Mr Mellor laughed.

While it was not used for day-to-day trading, Mr Mellor operated the flying fox until his retirement in 2005.

“I continued to use it because it was a good tourist attraction and people would bring their kids or grandkids back to have a look at the flying fox at Mellors,” he said.

“I know it’s old-fashioned, but that’s what it was all about in those days.”

Ms Brogden agreed.

“The town know it really well … it’s a great attraction and something to add to our store for the tourists,” she said.

A nod to the past

The flying fox isn’t the only homage to history in the new store.

“We wanted to bring the old and new together,” Lifeline state visual merchandising manager Wendy Canfyn said.

“The counter that’s in there is a massive, long counter, obviously for when they measured the material, so we’ve kept that.

“All the fixtures around the walls are these beautiful timber handmade fixtures, so we’ve utilised those for our own stock.”

Breathing life back into the town

Mr Mellor said it had been difficult to see the building sit empty in recent years.

“There’s nothing worse in these little towns than to see four or five empty shops,” he said.

“People say, ‘This place is dying,’ but I don’t think it’s dying.”

Residents and visitors are proving that.

Ms Brogden said business had been “firing on all cylinders” since the store opened in July.

“The Gayndah store’s been really well received since the day it was opened … which is really good for our fundraising efforts,” she said.