Toy Fisheries

Many readers are interested in Toy Fisheries, which was once located in Parramatta Road.  One of our readers tells this story.

I live in Queensland now, but as I child I used to live next door to the founder of Toy Fisheries, Col Lewis, and his family in Flavelle Street, Concord, in Sydney.  Col started importing and breeding tropical fish in his backyard, with concrete ponds and a hot-house.

He also tried selling baby crocodiles at one point, but stopped after local councils were finding grown ones dumped in weirs, drains, and other waterways when the crocs became too big for people to keep them safely.

Col was an astute businessman, and his backyard business eventually grew to an extent he needed more space. That’s when he set up the Toy Fisheries store on Parramatta Road Homebush.

My mother kept in touch with his wife after they moved to Strathfield, but when my mother died in 1990 I lost all contact with the Lewises.

The advertisement above was published September 24 1970. The Australian Jewish Times (Sydney, NSW : 1953 – 1990), p. 11. from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article263169887