After 118 years the fourth generation member of the Bridgeland family, Rob Bridgland, is closing up shop.
This is a great loss for the local community. Bridglands Betta Home Living (Electrical) in Mullumbimby will have closed its doors by the end of June or when it runs out of stock. The family legacy began with Rob’s great-grandfather Alex Robertson who opened a furniture factory and shop in Mullumbimby around 1908. They would ship furniture to Sydney on the Wollongbar and the family legend has it that they supplied furniture to the first Parliament House in Canberra.
Alex passed away in 1912 and Rob’s great-grandmother, Marion Bridgland, kept the business going before it was eventually taken over by her son Dudley Bridgland, her son from her first marriage, who bought the business in the 1920s after WWI. His three sons Hardey, Bill (Rob’s dad) and Bruce ran the business with him and they had extended the business to include floor coverings and electrical before their father’s death in 1974.
After his father had retired and his uncle Bruce had passed on, Rob’s dad worked on Rob, who had moved to Sydney and married, to come back, buy and run the business. Rob and his wife and kids returned to Mullumbimby and purchased the whole business in 1991.
Rob had Bridglands Furniture and Bedding in the Bridglands Building on Burringbar Street, Mullumbimby’s main drag with the bedding and bedroom furniture housed out the back.
They moved the electrical arm of the business to the current purpose-built building on Stuart Street in 2000.
2022 flood impact
Then the 2022 floods caused significant damage to both the Bridglands Building on Stuart Street and the building behind it, ultimately leading to the closure of those stores and the rein-vention of the Bridglands Building into a space for multiple shop fronts and The Food Pantry in the original factory space out the back.
Remembering his grandfather pottering around the original Bridglands store in his slippers at 80, Rob decided that instead of that future he’d like to spend more time with his wife, kids, and seven grandkids – and perhaps have a few more adventures.
‘Business has taken up a huge chunk of my life and I am looking forward to spending time with family, friends and I’m keen to see more of Australia, perhaps even visit old Parliament House to see if I can verify the legend.
A great experience
‘It has been a great experience working in this colourful town,’ Rob told The Echo. ‘It is a melting pot of different people, creative ideas, and viewpoints. It expands your thinking and is really good for the community.’
He has assured The Echo that he and his kids are committed to keeping the building behind the Bridglands Building available to The Food Pantry run by the Mullumbimby and District Neighbourhood Centre at low cost.
‘I’m not sure what will happen to this building,’ he said of the current electrical store, ‘but my grandfather built the Bridglands Building and the one behind it. They hold so much history and heritage for my family and the town that I will never sell those,’ he told The Echo.
‘I just want to thank all the friends and loyal customers I’ve had over the years. Keeping customers happy has been a key part of what we have done here at Bridglands and it has enriched my life no end.’
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