Hide & De Carle, Grocers & Wine Merchants token 1858

From1857 to 1861Thomas Hide and Edward De Carle ran a Grocery store on the east side of Elizabeth Street, near Bourke Street. The partners then went their separate ways, drawn in different directions in their search for fortune.

Edward De Carle is thought to have been in Melbourne from 1849, and is said to have got his start in business by taking goods to the gold fields on a cart pulled by Newfoundland dogs. De Carle was the leading partner in Melbourne’s first shopping arcade, the Queen’s Arcade, in October 1853. In 1862 he moved to New Zealand, where he also issued tokens.

Thomas Hide came to Victoria from England. By 1853 he was advertising his services as an auctioneer in Melbourne. In July that year he opened a General store at 11 Bourke Street. He moved his store to Swanston Street, then to 68 Elizabeth Street, before he entered into partnership with De Carle. Hide later kept a grocery store in South Melbourne.