Timeline

## Timeline of Lemair

### **Introduction**

This is a summary of primary source information, mostly from the internet, that concerns the Australian brand name, Lemair with particular emphasis on their sewing machines.

### **1953**

* Nov 06, 1953 - "A trademark application was filed with the Australian Government by **Tecma Lemair Pty Limited**. At the time of application IP Australia allocated number 116192. As at the last database update (on 2012-08-23) the status of this trademark application was Removed - Not Renewed." The trademark was in international class 11: **Apparatus for lighting, heating, steam generating, cooking, refrigerating, drying, ventilating, water supply and sanitary purposes**; Goods & services: heating air conditioning and ventilating equipment and apparatus

### **1957**

* Feb 12, 1957 - Sydney Morning Herald, p.5 - Advertisement for a Sealed Oil, Controlled Electric Heating System by **Lemair Heating and Ventilating Pty. Ltd., 84 Pitt St, Sydney**. Phone BW 6818

### **1958**

* Apr 13, 1958 - Sydney Morning Herald, p.4 - Advertisement for three types of electric heating systems by Lemair Heating and Ventilating Pty. Ltd., 84 Pitt St, Sydney. Phone BW 6818. Mentions, "over 10 years experience with various methods of heating..."
* May 27, 1958 - Application for registration of three trademarks was filed with the Australian Government by Tecma Lemair Pty Limited. On application IP Australia assigned the following numbers 137144 - Clothesmaster - **Clothes washing machines**; 137146 & 137147 - Dish-a-matic & Dish-o-matic - **dish and glass washing machines**. As at the last database update (on 2012-08-23) the status of this trademark application was Removed - Not Renewed."

### **1959**

* May 27, 1959 - Sydney Morning Herald, p.15 - Advertisement for electric heating systems by Lemair Heating and Ventilating Pty. Ltd., 84 Pitt St, Sydney. Phone BW 6818.
* Aug 16, 1959 - Sydney Morning Herald, p.32 - **Earliest advert for Lemair sewing machines** found in SMH. Large photograph and promotional text for "Lemair Pacesetter" and small line drawing and promo text for "Lemair-Helvetia Free Arm". Company listed as, **Lemair (Aust.) Pty. Ltd. 84 Pitt St., Sydney**. **BW6818, BW1043**.
* Sep 15, 1959 - Sydney Morning Herald, p.15 - identical advert to the one from Aug 16, 1959 with "Lemair Pacesetter" and "Lemair-Helvetia Free Arm".

### **1960**

* Feb 14, 1960 - Sydney Morning Herald, p35 - Lemair sewing machine advertisement for Lemair Aust. Pty. Ltd. from the Sydney Morning Herald. There are five machines shown, from top to bottom, the Lemair Helvetia Flairmatic, Lemair Helvetia Saphire, Lemair Helvetia Free Arm, Lemair Helvetia Super Selectomatic, Lemair-Helvetia Special.
* Mar 01, 1960 - Sydney Morning Herald, p08 - Identical advert to Feb 14, 1960 - Sydney Morning Herald, p35 except that there are 15 Lemair-Helvetia Specials left.
* Jul 17, 1960 - Sydney Morning Herald, p33 - Lemair sewing machine advertisement for Lemair Aust. Pty. Ltd. from the Sydney Morning Herald. There are five machines shown, from top to bottom, the Lemair Helvetia Flairmatic, Lemair Helvetia Saphire, Lemair Helvetia Free Arm, Lemair Helvetia Super Selectomatic, Lemair-Helvetia Special. It is identical to the advert placed in the Feb 14, 1960 Sydney Morning Herald, p35 except that there are now 15 Lemair-Helvetia Specials at 39 Gns each instead of 30 at 29 Gns and the address is shown as "**First Floor, 84 Pitt Street, Sydney. BW1043/6818, BL5219**"
* Aug 28, 1960 - Sydney Morning Herald, p25 - Lemair sewing machine advertisement for Lemair Aust. Pty. Ltd. from the Sydney Morning Herald, an update of the advert in the Jul 17, 1960 SMH, p33. The machines advertised are listed as the..., from top to bottom, the Lemair Helvetia Flairmatic, Lemair Helvetia Super Selectomatic (much larger photo), Lemair-Helvetia Special (doesn't say how many left), Lemair Helvetia Saphire, Lemair Helvetia Galaxie (for the first time) and the Lemair-Helvetia Free Arm "De-luxe". **This is the latest mention of Lemair at 84 Pitt Street, Sydney I've found.**

### **1961**

* May 28, 1961 - Sydney Morning Herald, p23 - Lemair Sewing Machine Advert from the Sydney Morning Herald with some interesting details about 'exclusive features' such as automatic non-clogging thread ejector, push-button reverse & fabric dial as well as information about the two main cabinets. It covers the Flairmatic, Galaxie, Sapphire, Selectomatic and the Helvetia Automatic Free Arm'*.* **This is the earliest mention I've found of Lemair at 396 Kent St, Sydney to date.'**

### **1962**

* Jan 21, 1962 - Sydney Morning Herald, p15 - Lemair sewing machine advertisement for Lemair Aust. Pty. Ltd. from the Sydney Morning Herald. There are four machines shown, from top to bottom, the Lemair Helvetia Galaxie, Lemair Helvetia Super-selectomatic, Lemair Helvetia Riviera and Lemair Helvetia Surrey. The advert lists a number of "selected retailers ... and good electrical stores everywhere ... Aust. Distributors: Lemair (Aust.) Pty. Ltd. 396 Kent St., Sydney. BX 7881"
* Jan 26, 1962 - Date of purchase of Lemair 454 in the Rudolf Couture Collection according to guarantee card from Lemair (Aust.) Pty. Ltd., 396 Kent St.
* Feb 11, 1962 - Sydney Morning Herald, p38 - Mention in Reid Murray advertisement of "66 gns. for Lemair-Helvetia Galaxie, world famous fully automatic electric portable. List price 85 gns. - but all you'll be asked to pay, after trade-in, is 66 gns. We've got another special... and it's a beauty! A Lemair-Helvetia for 29 gns.!!"
* Jul 01, 1962 - Sydney Morning Herald, p69 - Lemair sewing machine advertisement for Waltons department store from the Sydney Morning Herald. There are two machines shown, the Lemair Helvetia Cambridge and the Lemair Helvetia Dial-A-Matic Automatic.
* Sep 22, 1962 - Date of purchase of Lemair 460 Super Flairmatic in House L’Stok’s collection according to guarantee card from Lemair (Aust.) Pty. Ltd., 396 Kent St. **This is the last mention of Lemair at 396 Kent St, Sydney to date**.

### **1964**

* Jan 12, 1964 - Sydney Morning Herald, p58 - Mention in McDowells advertisement of "Lemair-Helvetia Riviera ...fabulous value at £45. One only. Does all types of sewing, hemstitches, darns, sews on buttons. Dep. £4. Wk. 6/9."
* May 27, 1964 - Australian Women's Weekly, p54 - Advert with seven Lemair Helvetia machines on it of a similar style to the Lemair ads that they had been running in The Sydney Morning Herald but because of the superior magazine print quality, the graphics are much better. It is the only Lemair ad of it's kind that has appeared from a search of the AWW on Trove until the colour advertisements of 1972. It shows the Valiant 930 Embroidamatic, New Custom Straight stitch, New Custom Zig-Zag, Riviera Zig Zag, Super-Selectomatic, New Custom Automatic, Galaxie. The advert lists the distributors in all states..."Sole Australian Distributors: Lemair (Aust.) Pty. Limited; N.S.W.:  71 Whiting St., Artarmon, Sydney. 43 4026; VIC.: xxxx; QLD.: xxxx; S.A.: xxxx; W.A. Dist.: xxxx". **This is the first mention of Lemair at** **71 Whiting St., Artarmon,**
* Sep 06, 1964 - Sydney Morning Herald, DJ's insert opp. p.68 - Lemair advertisement for David Jones department store from an insert in the Sydney Morning Herald. There is one sewing machine shown, the Lemair Helvetia Galaxie on a wooden base with luggage clasps plus a Lemair Regina Electrik Broom, an example of Lemaire hyphenating their trade name with the original supplier.

### **1967**

* Feb 05, 1967 - Sun Herald, p29 - Waltons department store advertisement showing Lemair Decorator and Lemair Super Flairmatic
* Aug 27, 1967 - Sydney Morning Herald, p36 - Lemair sewing machine advertisement for Lemair Aust. Pty. Ltd. in the Sydney Morning Herald which is identical to the advert in the SMH on Nov 19 except that it has a list of the Sydney City, suburban and NSW country stockists as well as the interstate distributors. Note: This is the first mention of the **Lemair** **Gaiety, the first Italian made Lemair** **sewing machine** I have confirmed.
* Sep 10, 1967 - Sydney Morning Herald, p83 - Lemair sewing machine advertisement for Lemair Aust. Pty. Ltd. in the Sydney Morning Herald which which appears to be identical to the advert in the SMH on Nov 19 except that it has a list of stockists and distributors shown on Aug 27.
* Oct 29, 1967 - Sydney Morning Herald, p36 - Lemair sewing machine advertisement for Lemair Aust. Pty. Ltd. in the Sydney Morning Herald which which appears to be identical to the advert in the SMH on Nov 19 except that it doesn't have the list of stockists and distributors shown on Aug 27.
* Nov 19, 1967 - Sydney Morning Herald, p38 - Lemair sewing machine advertisement for Lemair Aust. Pty. Ltd. from the Sydney Morning Herald. There are seven machines shown, from top to bottom, the Lemair Helvetia Embroidamatic, Lemair Helvetia Embroidamatic Deluxe, Lemair Helvetia Embroidamaster, Lemair Helvetia Gaiety, Lemair Helvetia Embroidaflair, Lemair Helvetia New Custom Zig-Zag, Lemair Helvetia 18-Cam Automatic. NB The address of the NSW distributor is shown as Lemair (Aust.) Pty. Ltd. 71 Whiting St, Artarmon, Sydney 43 4026

### **1971**

* Jan 03, 1971 - Sydney Morning Herald, p88 - Lemair sewing machine advertisement for Farmer's department store from the Sydney Morning Herald, the machines advertised are listed as the Lemair Helvetia Automatic Zig-Zag, Lemair Helvetia Fully Automatic and Lemair Helvetia Embroidamagic
* Mar 14, 1971 - Sydney Morning Herald, p192 - Lemair sewing machine advertisement for Farmer's department store from the Sydney Morning Herald, the machines advertised are listed as the Lemair Helvetia Embroidamagic and Lemair Helvetia Zig-Zag Deluxe

### **1972**

* Feb 16, 1972 - Australian Women's Weekly, p1 "AUTUMN ARTISTRY" - Supplement mentioning Lemair sewing machines. Page 16 Advert with 12 Lemair machines on it, duplicate of advert on Nov 22.
* Nov 11, 1972 - Australian Women's Weekly, p119  Advert with 12 Lemair machines on it: 01. Embroidamaster; 02. New Yorker; 03. New Custom Zig Zag; 04. Philadephia 05. Swing'n'sew; 06. Capri DeLuxe; 07. Embroidaflair; 08. Embroidamagic (Br 181); 09. Embroidamatic Deluxe-A; 10. Embroidamatic Deluxe-B; 11. Super Practical; 12. Embroidamaster-B. Duplicate of advert on Feb 16.

### **1973**

* Original receipt dated 1973 mentioned in Gumtree sale on 22/02/2018 of a machine identical to one quoted in a Craftster forum post as a Lemair Helvetia SZA-708-BH, which also match the Embroidamaster shown in the AWW adverts of the previous year on Feb 16 and Nov 11

### **1974**

* Apr 07, 1974 - Sydney Morning Herald, p119 - Lemair sewing machine advertisement for Waltons department store from the Sydney Morning Herald. There is a Lemair knitting machine shown as well as a Lemair Deluxe Zig-Zag

### **1975**

* Jul 06, 1975 - Sydney Morning Herald, p.99 - Lemair sewing machines in Waltons department store advertisement from the Sydney Morning Herald. There are two machines shown, the "Lemair Charger" and the Lemair 803 Boutique.
* Aug 10, 1975 - Sydney Morning Herald, p54 - Lemair sewing machine advertisement for Waltons department store from the Sydney Morning Herald for the Lemair Charger, same machine and deal as the one shown in the Jul 06 advert but with a different graphic.

### **1976**

* Sep 01, 1976 - tecma pty limited (NOTE, NOT Tecma Lemair Pty Limited) filed with the Australian Government applications for **registration of these trademarks**..."300102 - Lemair - Class 7:  **sewing machines** and knitting machines, electric sewing machines and electric knitting machines, and parts and accessories thereof included in this class- removed, not renewed" "300103 - Lemair - Class 16: all goods included in this class including electric and manual typewriters - removed, not renewed"

* Sep 03, 1976 tecma pty limited (NOTE, NOT Tecma Lemair Pty Limited) filed with the Australian Government applications for **registration of these trademarks**, "300204 - Lemair - Class 6: **sewing machine tables and other goods used as accessories for sewing**, knitting and textile machines all being goods included in this class - removed, not renewed" "300205 - Lemair - Class 20: **stands for sewing machines**, sewing machine stools, sewing machine tables (non-metallic), boxes for accessories for sewing machines, accessories for sewing, knitting and textile machines included in this class - removed, not renewed"

* Dec 21, 1976 - Announcement in Sydney Morning Herald, p16, "Lemair (Aust) - New General Manager; Mr. Norman James has been appointed General Manager of Lemair (Aust) Pty Ltd, importers and distributor of Lemaire Helvetia sewing and knitting machines and Lemair typewriters. Grahame Hodson has been appointed sales manager of the Melbourne branch office and Brian Ellison manager of the Adelaide branch."

### **1977**

* Brother International (Aust) Pty. Ltd. is established in Australia.

### **1978**

* Nov 02, 1978 - Home appliances pty ltd filed with the Australian Government applications for registration of the following trademark, 323682: Lemair - Class 11: refrigerators and freezers; and all other goods included in this class - This was still registered/protected as at the last database update on May 08, 2014.

### **1982**

* Mar 19, 1982 tecma pty limited (NOTE, **NOT** Tecma Lemair Pty Limited) filed with the Australian Government applications for registration of this trademark, 373176: Lemair - Class 11: toasters, and all other goods in this class - removed, not renewed

* On the same date, Mar 19, 1982 - Home Appliances Pty Ltd filed with the Australian Government applications for registration of the following trademark, 373177: Lemair - Class 7: clothing presses of all types including domestic steam presses, steam irons; electrical apparatus for the kitchen including mixers, blenders and grinders and all other goods in this class - This was still registered/protected as at the last database update on May 08, 2014.

### **1985**

* May 17, 1985 - Lemair is included in a list of holders of developing country tariff quotas in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, p6. "CATEGORY: 848; Description of goods: Domestic refrigerators of less than 200 litres gross internal capacity. Unit of quantity - Customs Value ... NAME; ADDRESS; QUANTITY NO /VALUE - **Lemair; Aust Pty Ltd 23 Amax Ave, Girraween NSW 2145**; 50 / 277

* Jul 02, 1985 - Grenford Nominees Pty Ltd, 23 Amax Avenue, GIRRAWEEN NSW 2145 filed with the Australian Government applications for registration of the following trademark, 429317: Lemair - Class 9: televisions; stereo equipment; video equipment; parts and accessories in this class for the aforesaid goods; removed, not renewed. Trademarkia.

### **1988**

* Nov 15, 1988 - Grenford Nominees Pty Ltd, 23 Amax Avenue, GIRRAWEEN NSW 2145 filed with the Australian Government applications for registration of the following trademark, 499552: Lemair - Class 25: clothing including sportswear and headgear; but excluding footwear;  lapsed/not protected. Trademarkia.

### **1989**

* Jan 05, 1989 - Grenford Nominees Pty Ltd, 23 Amax Avenue, GIRRAWEEN NSW 2145 filed with the Australian Government applications for registration of the following trademarks "502533: Lemair - Class 18: Leather and imitations of leather, and goods made of these materials and not included in other classes; animal skins, hides; trunks and travelling bags; umbrellas, parasols and walking sticks; whips, harness and saddlery. All goods included in this class;  lapsed/not protected. Trademarkia." "502534: Lemair - Class 28: Games and playthings; gymnastic and sporting articles not included in other classes; decorations for Christmas trees. All goods included in this class; lapsed/not protected. Trademarkia."

### **1992**

* 1992, Tecma Lemair Pty Ltd take over the Lemair brand. "According to legend, Lemair started as a contra trading business with the old USSR. Its Australian owners would send over wool and wheat to the grim Communist nation and would receive vodka and whitegoods in return." Appliance Retailer

### **1993**

* Jun 30, 1993 - Tecma pty limited (NOTE, **NOT** Tecma Lemair Pty Limited) filed with the Australian Government applications for registration of this trademark: "605868 - Lemair - Class 9: scientific, electric, photographic, cinematographic, optical, weighing, measuring, life-saving and teaching apparatus and instruments; apparatus for recording, transmission or reproduction of sound or images; magnetic data carriers, recording discs; cash registers, calculating machines; data processing equipment and computers; fire-extinguishing apparatus; and all other goods in this class - removed, not renewed"

### **1995**

* Jun 01, 1995 - Tecma pty limited (NOTE, NOT Tecma Lemair Pty Limited) filed with the Australian Government applications for registration of these trademarks. "662813 - Snowcap - Class 11:  refrigerating & freezing apparatus, including refrigerators & freezers; cooking, heating, air-conditioning, drying & ventilating equipment & apparatus - removed, not renewed" "662814 - Birjusa - Class 11:  refrigerating and freezing apparatus, including refrigerators and freezers; cooking, heating, air-conditioning, drying and ventilating equipment and apparatus - removed, not renewed." NB Birjusa is an alternate spelling for the Biryusa River in Russia.

### **2014**

* Jun 10, 2014 - Article about Home Appliances, a subsidiary of McPherson’s Ltd, acquiring the Lemair brand. Already the owner of the Euromaid, Elica, Fagor, Baumatic, IAG and Arc brandnames, the company purchased it "because its sees strong growth potential in the brand, once it is backed by a strong sales focus. Home Appliances plan to take the brand national, building retail support in all states and broadening the product range... The product range consists of mini washers, chest freezers and bar refrigerators, as well as an upright freezer. Lemair is a brand that works well online and for retailers focusing on value.”

**2018**

* Tecma Lemair Pty Ltd 246 Hoxton Park Road, Liverpool NSW 2170 (02) 9608 1266 White Pages
* "Founded in 1956 Lemair is a longstanding Australian brand which has been successfully supplying quality, relevant products to Australians at a cost effective price point for the last 61 years. Today Lemair functions mainly as a small appliance business with a focus on refrigeration, washing machines and wine cabinets.
The Lemair range of mini washers is popular with camping and caravan enthusiasts as well as anyone who needs a small efficient washing machine. The Lemair mini washers get bundled into cars, trailers and caravans camping around Australia and have an enthusiastic following.Our front loader is proving to be extremely popular and efficient in its category. Our twin tub washer is one of the best selling across the country.
The refrigeration range consists of a range of chest freezers, bar refrigerators as well as a pigeon pair of upright fridge and freezer.
Lemair is owned by the successful Home Appliance Group. You can buy with confidence with the backing, distribution and service network of a large company. Home Appliances is proudly 100% Australian owned and is happy to have Lemair  in its range of products." Website sourced Jan 16 2018

* "Categorized under Wholesale Electric Equipment and Supplies. Current estimates show this company has an annual revenue of $2,902,346 and employs a staff of approximately 6." (Manta). Described as "Manufacturing and Industrial" (Aubizlist) and "Customs Brokers" (Yelp)