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Story: Department stores and shopping malls

Fabric department

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Fabric department

The fabric department was a colourful section of the Smith & Caughey store in Auckland. Department stores were divided into sections (departments) selling different types of goods, with the most popular and enticing departments on the ground floor.

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Smith & Caughey's

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How to cite this page

Helen Laurenson, Department stores and shopping malls – The heyday of department stores, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/22198/fabric-department (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Helen Laurenson, published 4 February 2010.