Butcher’s and baker’s shops were generally located along the suburb’s main arteries. In 1901 each of the 16 Glebe butchers serviced an average of 1200 residents (in contrast to the lone butcher now at Glebe Point and Glenmore Meats in Wentworth Park Road); and the 7 bakers served about 2750 people each.

Many were family businesses operating in Glebe for decades — bakers John Heil, William Hammett, Berthold Stehr, Thomas Martin, John Purves, Martin Wengert, August Heinrich, Charles Vass, Joseph Wrobel and Christian Raith were local identities. They worked an 80-hour week but, with increasing mechanisation, Purves Bakery, established in 1871 at 93 St.John’s Road (now producing muffins etc.at the rear of those premises on the corner of Purves and Reuss Streets) and Raith’s Bishopthorpe Bakery at 62 Glebe Road emerged as the suburb’s largest.

Forest Lodge people bought their meat from William Alleyn (176 St. Johns Road) and William Tumeth (271 Bridge Rd). Other well-known Glebe butchers were:

Andrew Knox, 56 Cowper Street
Edward Miller, 36 Bay Street
James Cochran, 176 St. John’s Road
Albert Goose, 116 Bridge Road
Richard Briant, 123 Glebe Road
Henry McMahon, 142 Glebe Road
J.R. Wood, 329 Glebe Road and, in more recent years,
Stan Hayes at 329 Glebe Road.

Just as Germans were prominent as bakers, from 1894, Italians began operating as fruiterers in Glebe – the Arena family (Sebastian, Nicola, Stephen, Pasquale and Vincenzo), Antoni Caleo, Filippo Cascio, Giovanni Cincotta, Giacomo Costa, Frank Dalbora, Giovanni Divola, Joseph Licciardi, Antoni Piconi and Tauro and Ristuccia.

–Max Solling

Today F. Galluzzo & Sons are most prominent as greengrocers and fruiterers at 191 Glebe Point Road and have recently celebrated 70 years in business at the same site.

— Ed.