Milne & Choyce
IndustryRetail
GenreDepartment stores
FoundedJuly 1, 1867 (age 159) in Auckland, New Zealand
Founder
Defunct1992
Hq locationAuckland, New Zealand

Milne & Choyce, later trading as Milnes was a New Zealand luxury department store chain founded in 1867 and operating until at least 1992. At its peak Milne & Choyce operated at least seven branch stores around the North Island of New Zealand, alongside a Queen Street flagship.

History

On 3 July 1867, Mary Jane and Charlotte Milne took over the drapery shop of Mr and Mrs Wison at on the corner of Wyndham Street and Albert Street.[1][2] The business was renamed Misses Milne.[1]

In July 1874, the Misses Milne acquired the drapery shop of Mr. B. Cass within Cheapside House, on the corner of Queen Street and Wellesley Street.[3] The original business on the corner of Wyndham Street and Albert Street continued to operate until operations were consolidated at Cheapside House in August.[3] Sometime between this relocation and 1875 the business was renamed to M. & C. Milne.

In 1876, Charlotte Milne's husband Henry Charles Choyce took over her share in the company, and the business was renamed to Milne & Choyce.[4][2] In September 1876, a fire occurred in the photography salon of John McGarrigle above Milne & Choyce's upstairs storeroom and destroyed much of the stores stock.[2]

Milne & Choyce hosted a spring fashion parade in 1887, one of the first in Auckland.[1]

In 1901, Milne & Choyce went public, and became Milne & Choyce Ltd., Henry Choyce served as managing director.[1][5]

131 Queen Street was purchased in 1908 for £50,000.[1][6] Milne & Choyce would now be situated "between the banks [Bank of New South Wales, Bank of New Zealand]".[1][6] The company would relocate to 131 Queen Street store on 6 September 1909.[7][8]

Mary Jane Milne retired at the age of seventy in 1909, though remained involved in the business until her death in 1921.[2]

In 1923, the wooden premises were replaced by with a nine floor building (seven above ground), designed by Llewellyn Piper. The new store had six lifts, fire alarms, a private telephone exchange, and a workroom to produce custom-order garments and in-house labels.[1]

Milne & Choyce purchased the Hooker & Kingston drapery of Hamilton in July 1950, it traded as Milne & Choyce from August 1950.[9]

In January 1959, it was announced that Milne & Choyce and D.I.C. would now be associated for future merchandising and purchasing activities, to be coordinated through a shared buying office in Wellington.[10] At the time Milne & Choyce had stores in Auckland (Central, Mount Roskill, Takapuna), Hamilton, and D.I.C. had stores in Christchurch, Dunedin, Lower Hutt, Wellington, and Whanganui.[10]

The C.M. Ross & Co. department store of Palmerston North was purchased in September 1959 for £219,375.[11][12] The store would be rebranded as Milne & Choyce and remain in operation until 1966.[13] In 1966 the store was sold to D.I.C., in 1989 it was rebranded to Arthur Barnett.[13] Arthur Barnett would close in 1992 and since 1996 the building has been home to the Palmerston North City Library.[14][15]

In September 1960, a branch store opened in Takapuna.[16]

In 1961, Milne & Choyce, Farmers, and Woolworths, entered into an agreement to purchase a plot of land in the Auckland suburb of New Lynn and develop New Zealand's first shopping centre.[17] The shopping centre opened on 30 October 1963 as LynnMall.[18][19]

In 1965, a branch store opened in Remuera. It was the largest suburban store of the company to date and featured a coffee bar that overlooked Hobson Bay alongside a self service food hall. One floor showed on Remuera Road but the store was actually three floors with a basement for storage and a rooftop carpark which could fit 60 cars.[20] A Panmure branch store was opened around the same time.

In October 1971, a branch store opened at Māngere Town Centre.[21][22] Milne & Choyce also purchased land in Howick for a new store.[23]

In 1973, Fletcher purchased a 31.25% stake in the company. Also in 1973 rival department store George Court & Sons. and Atlas-Majestic Industries attempted take-over bids of Milne & Choyce.[24][25]

On 28 February 1975, 131 Queen Street store closed and was relocated to the Downtown Shopping Centre.[26] At this point, the company changed its name from Milne & Choyce to Milnes. The original 131 Queen Street flagship would become the Centrecourt Shopping Centre in 1986, Centrecourt would close around 2020.[27] Following the closure of Centrecourt the building was renovated for offices and retail.[28] In 2025, it was announced that Faradays department store would open its flagship store in the building.[29]

Fletcher attempted a take-over bid of Milnes in May 1975.[30] In January 1976, Haywrights took over Milnes and stores were rebranded to Haywrights.[31] In December 1976 four stores (Mount Roskill, Pakuranga, Northcote, and Papatoetoe) were sold.[31]

The Haywrights Downtown Shopping Centre flagship store closed in August 1979 as the company exited the North Island and retreated back to the South Island.[32]

Due to unknown circumstances the Milnes store in Remuera continued to operate following the Haywrights rebranding and North Island exit. The company was known as Milnes of Auckland/Milnes Group and had three stores around Auckland (Remuera, 151 Queen Street, and Glenn Innes).

In March 1989, Milnes entered receivership and began seeking a buyer in April.[33][34] In May 1989, the Queen Street store (closed since April) began a receivership sale in attempts to save the Remuera store.[35][33] The Remuera store was sold in late November 1989 and would continue trading as a speciality department store.[36] Milnes Remuera continued trading until at least 1992.[37]

Store locations and opening timeline

Metropolitan area ("metro")Suburb or NeighborhoodName/Location/NotesSizeOpenedClosed
AucklandAuckland CentralMisses Milne Located at 37 Wyndham Street, corner of Albert Street.3 July 1867[1]16 August 1874[3]
AucklandAuckland CentralMilne & Choyce Queen Street Located at Cheapside House, corner of Queen Street & Wellesley Street.July 18741909
AucklandAuckland CentralMilne & Choyce Queen Street Located at 131 Queen Street.6 September 19091976
HamiltonHamilton CentralMilne & Choyce Hamilton Located at 231 Victoria Street.21 August 1950[9]1976
Palmerston NorthPalmerston North CentralMilne & Choyce Palmerston North Located at 4 The Square.September 1959[12]1976
AucklandTakapunaMilne & Choyce Takapuna Located on Hurstmere Road.12 September 1960[16]1976
AucklandNew LynnMilne & Choyce New Lynn Located at LynnMall.30 October 19631976
AucklandRemueraMilne & Choyce Remuera Located on Remuera Road.19651976
AucklandMāngereMilne & Choyce Mangere Located at Māngere Town Centre.16,000 sq ft (1,486 m2)[38]12 October 1971[21]1976
AucklandRemueraMilnes of Remuera Located on Remuera Road.~1992
AucklandAuckland CentralMilnes Located at 151 Queen Street.1989

References

  1. ^ "Milne & Choyce". New Zealand Fashion Museum. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  2. ^ Regnault, Claire (2021). Dressed : fashionable dress in Aotearoa New Zealand 1840 to 1910. Wellington, New Zealand: Te Papa Press. pp. 87–90. ISBN 978-0-9941460-6-9. OCLC 1245592939
  3. ^ "Genuine Sale of Drapery, Millinery, and Hosiery". Auckland Star. 16 July 1874. p. 4. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  4. ^ Tucker, K. A. (1968). Milne and Choyce: A One Hundred Year Business History, 1867-1967.. Milne and Choyce.
  5. ^ "Mary Jane Milne - Businesswoman, Retailer and Co-founder of Milne and Choyce". Remuera Heritage. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
  6. ^ "£50,000 for a city site". Taranaki Herald. 8 September 1908. p. 2. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  7. ^ "A Big Business Move". Auckland Star. 30 August 1909. p. 9. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  8. ^ "Milne & Choyce's new premises". The New Zealand Herald. 6 September 1909. p. 5. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  9. ^ "Company News". Otago Daily Times. 28 July 1950. p. 8. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  10. ^ "Department Stores Link". The Press. 27 January 1959. p. 19. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  11. ^ "Milne & Choyce move". The Press. 23 June 1959. p. 19. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  12. ^ "£219,375 Deal By Milne And Choyce". The Press. 14 September 1959. p. 16. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  13. ^ "Milne and Choyce department store". Manawatū Heritage. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  14. ^ "Arthur Barnett Department Store". Manawatū Heritage. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  15. ^ "Palmerston North City Library". Manawatū Heritage. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  16. ^ "Milne and Choyce Limited, Auckland, Takapuna". natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
  17. ^ "£1m Shopping Centre For New Lynn". The Press. 5 December 1962. p. 17. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  18. ^ Laurenson, Helen. "Department Stores and Shopping Malls"
  19. ^ Day, Simon (2013-10-19). "Fifty years of the shopping mall". Stuff. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
  20. ^ "Henry Choyce". Remuera Heritage. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
  21. ^ "12 October 1971". DigitalNZ. 1971-10-12. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  22. ^ Freer, Murray (1971-01-01). "Finishing touches, Māngere, 1971". DigitalNZ. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  23. ^ "Milne Choyce calls in consultants". The Press. 12 November 1971. p. 18. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  24. ^ "Milnes George Courts bid". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
  25. ^ "Atlas does not bid for Milnes". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
  26. ^ "Lime works fatality". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
  27. ^ "131 Queen Street | Auckland History Initiative" (in en-NZ). Retrieved 2025-11-09.
  28. ^ Denizen, The (2024-03-19). "We take you inside 131 Queen Street — Downtown's vibrant new office space and hospitality precinct". Denizen. Retrieved 2025-11-09.
  29. ^ "Faradays To Open 3-Level Luxury Department Store In Auckland's CBD". MiNDFOOD. Retrieved 2025-11-09.
  30. ^ "Fletchers believed to be behind Milnes bid". The Press. 27 May 1975. p. 22. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  31. ^ "Haywrights to sell 4 Auckland stores". The Press. 27 December 1976. p. 4. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  32. ^ "Haywrights closes Auckland Downtown shopping centre". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
  33. ^ "Auckland store in receivership". The Press. 4 April 1989. p. 4. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  34. ^ "Buyers sought for store". The Press. 22 April 1989. p. 30. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  35. ^ "Briefs: Receivership sale". The Press. 19 May 1989. p. 16. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  36. ^ "Chain’s Remuera outlet sold as going concern". The Press. 27 November 1989. p. 41. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  37. ^ "Winfield International Soccer". The Press. 3 June 1992. p. 38. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  38. ^ "Commercial News in Brief: Milne, Choyce". The Press. 31 October 1970. p. 21. Retrieved 11 November 2025.