Hot Chocolate

Barney Silbert: once a household name, the person and the landmark in Fremantle.

‘Meet you at Barney’s Corner’ was the familiar cry when Barney Silbert’s Shoe Store was on the then high profile corner of High and Market Streets, Fremantle.

Barney Silbert

In the mid 1980s, if you looked up to the first floor, you saw the signage ‘Barney Silbert’s Corner’ painted in the window, arranged by Barney’s son Eric in time for the America’s Cup Challenge.

Today ‘Barney Silbert’ is immortalised in beautiful terrazzo flooring as you enter the chocolate shop, ‘Coal River Farm’. Chocolate, no longer shoes!

So, just who was the personality behind the name?

Barney, originally Berel, was born in Russia, the youngest child of Tamara and Jacob Silbert. By the age of four, his mother had died. The family lived in the area near the Black Sea and like all people of the Jewish religion, were subject to persecution: they were controlled in where they were allowed to live, what occupation they could participate in, where they were allowed to travel, had compulsory military conscription for four years and, were not permitted to be citizens.

As a teenager of seventeen, Barney left Europe alone, to join family members already living in Fremantle. It is believed he began learning English on the ship from an Italian immigrant!.

His voyage on the ‘Karlsruhe’ is commemorated on Panel 99 of the Welcome Wall near the Maritime Museum at Victoria Quay.

How ‘Berel’ became ‘Barney’ is part of the family folklore: it is believed that young Silbert
disembarked in Fremantle and was asked his name. When he replied ‘Berel Silbert’, Berel being
a European male name, the official replied: ‘With a name like that, you will need to be able to run or fight’. This not very tall teenager asked what should he be named. The response from the Irish official was ‘Barney’.

Commencing work on the Goldfields of Western Australia with his brother in law, the owner of
Silbert and Sharpe, Fruit and Vegetable Merchants, this immigrant teenager was to become
a well known and popular figure around Fremantle.

The first business presence involving Barney was at 94 High Street, on the corner of Packenham Street, in a shop known as ‘Dainty Lady’ that sold giftware, watches and even imported china that his fiancée, Minnie Masel, painted to brighten up the plain white crockery of the day.

In 1913, Barney Silbert and Minnie Masel were married in quite the society wedding.

In 1920 Barney and Minnie bought land on the south side of Ellen Street, and acquired an 80
foot frontage and 3/8ths of an acre to build the Federation style family home that exists to this day.

Originally number 74 Ellen Street, it is heritage listed as number 55.

Minnie and Barney’s second son Eric was born in the front room of the Ellen Street house in 1922.

A close friend and Ellen Street neighbour of Barney’s was Frederick Samson, with whom he
shared an interest in rose growing and together they would purchase the rose bushes for both
these now heritage properties. Fred Samson was to go on to become the long serving Mayor of Fremantle – Sir Frederick Samson – and even donated his Samson House in Ellen Street to the City of Fremantle. Today it is managed by the National Trust.

Barney’s son Eric described the Silbert Ellen Street home as being ‘surrounded by an English garden of citrus trees, dahlias, grapes, arum lilies, jasmin, black-eyed susan, german lilac, and 100 roses from Newman’s Nursery.’

In 1935, Barney was awarded First Prize for the Fremantle Inter Districts Garden Competition.

From the verandah the Silbert family could see the port, and could use WA’s largest playing field, Fremantle Park, which included the croquet, bowling and tennis clubs.

They could also hear the sounds of residents in the nearby asylum, now the Fremantle Arts Centre.

High Street Fremantle back in the day. Barney Silbert’s on the right. Source Freotopia

Barney and Minnie successfully ran Barney Silbert’s Shoe Store, that they had expanded from
the original boot grinders acquired from the widowed older sister of Minnie, Fanny Breckler.

Fanny had married Yoel Breckler who was in business with his brother on the corner of High and Market Streets. With the death of Yoel, Fanny joined the business and then decided all the action would be in Perth. So, she sold to her young sister Minnie and brother in law Barney Silbert.

The business was first Breckler and Silbert, then Barney Silbert Shoe
Store. Minnie and Barney were business partners in the store, equally involved in the business.

They succeeded in business, surviving the Depression, World War 2, and had even grown the business by expanding into neighbouring spaces within the Manning Building: all this despite Barney having received very little formal education, little English language on arrival, and no formal business training.

Trustees Antediluvian Order at Buffalo Club

He was a foundation member of the Fremantle Businessmen’s Association in 1919, becoming
treasurer, and was actively involved with the Ugly Men’s Association. This was a uniquely Western Australian charity group who raised funds and built houses for World War 1 widows.

Barney was also a Trustee and Foundation member of the Fremantle Royal Antediluvian Order
of Buffalos , a lodge still located in High Street.

After World War 2, Barney was involved in the Advance Fremantle Association.

His business also sponsored a yacht race off Fremantle with the ‘Barney Silbert’s Cup’, and, sensibly, both the South Fremantle and East Fremantle Football Clubs.

Barney had been a roller skater and a rower and then joined Fremantle Bowling Club as a keen and competent player, only having to walk across the road from his home to bowl. He joined in 1919, was in a team that competed in NSW in 1931, and won the Glick Trophy in 1935.

His passion for lawn bowls saw him design a new item of clothing: a sleeveless pullover that he interested a manufacturer in, and had them made in cream for bowlers. A first in fashion! He sold them in others colours in the shop, for general wear.

Barney was one of the first people in the metropolitan area with a car: a Wiley’s Overland Tourer, number 124, which he drove as an ambulance during World War 1.

Cars and their owners in those early days were listed in the newspaper of the day.

Barney was a personality. Customers went to the Silbert Shoe Store to buy a pair of shoes and stayed many hours listening to his stories.

His sense of humour had him walking into the street from the store one day, and looking up. Passers by joined him, also staring into the sky. When he has attracted a goodly sized crowd, he walked back inside!

He would park his car outside the shop and when policeman told Mr Silbert there was a No Parking sign, Barney apparently bent down and asked – ‘Who wrote that sign under my car?’

Barney Silbert was also known for his empathy and decency. The Wilson family in particular.
Ken Wilson, who managed the shoe store for many years, was the seventh child of a family of nine. The Depression and his father Alexander’s poor health meant that in 1935, aged 14, he had to leave school to become a shop boy for Barney. Ken, who borrowed shoes for his interview, has recounted that his employer was a good business man and excellent tutor, often kind to him and his family. In 1938 when Ken’s father died suddenly, Barney opened the
shop on that Sunday to dress the family for the funeral and then paid Ken an extra five shillings a week. This extra money in the little yellow pay envelope was given to Mrs Wilson by Ken. When she saw the extra, she told Ken to take it back as he had been over paid. He hadn’t and Barney insisted.

World War 2 saw both Barney amd Minnie’s sons, who had joined the shoe business, serving their country and absent for many of the war years. On their return, Barney aged 60 announced
his immediate retirement. He was to die only nine years later in 1954.

So one colourful character Barney Silbert.

Very much part of the fabric of Fremantle.

I’m sure he would be amused to step over the terrazzo floor and the words ‘Barney Silbert’, and into the current store, to buy a hot chocolate!

By Hilary Silbert

Hilary is the Granddaughter of Barney Silbert
Daughter of Eric Silbert

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