For more than 100 years the Australian corner shop was an institution for millions of Australians.
More than a simple shop, it was the heart of many neighbourhoods. These days you can buy anything with the click of a button, but nothing replaces that memory of walking into your corner shop to spend pocket money on lollies or having a chat while grabbing a loaf of bread.
So, in this series of Back In Time For The Corner Shop, Annabel Crabb is on hand to help Carol and Peter Ferrone and their children Julian, Sienna and Olivia navigate the highs and lows of being shopkeepers through 150 years of Australian history. Adding to their time travelling challenge, the Ferrone family will go further back in time than they’ve ever been before, starting their adventure in the 1850s.
Back In Time For The Corner Shop was filmed in a close knit suburban community in Botany, Sydney, on a site that was a corner shop for many years up until its closure in 2016. For the first time in the series’ history, filming involved members of the public who were able to shop with the Ferrones and share in the ‘time travel’ experience.
Special guests joined the family to help them understand the eras they traversed. Many of the guests, including Jeff Fatt, John Doyle and Lex Marinos have first-hand experience growing up in a family run store. Ita Buttrose, Linda Burney, Pam Burridge and Craig Foster all helped them understand societal shifts that have shaped our culture and lives.
From the 1850s to the 1990s, Back In Time For The Corner Shop charts the social, economic and historic changes that shape how we shop, live and connect as a community. And we see how the role of the corner shop has shifted, and its status as a community hub has changed.
In 2018, Australia first fell in love with the Ferrone family when they discovered the trials and joys of living through 60 years of Australian history from the 1950s to present day in the hit series Back In Time For Dinner. In Further Back In Time For Dinner the Ferrones lived, cooked and ate their way from Federation to the 1940s. Â
Back In Time For The Corner Shop, starts on Tuesday, March 7, 8pm on ABC TV, with each episode available to stream on ABC iview. Â
Media Release – ABC
