Believed to be the first newsagency in town, Henry James Channell first opened H J Channell’s, on the corner of Church and Denison Street, in the early 1900s.

The shop, which originally held a barbershop, tobacconist and newsagency, was bought by HJ’s son, William James (Jim) Channell and his wife, Doris in 1954.

Continuing on the tradition, Peter Channell and with his wife, Marcia bought the business from his father, Jim in 1981, and retained ownership until Sunday, December 2, 2018, when they handed over the keys to the new owners, Lovey's Grocers.

For Gloucester, it’s the end of an era, as one of the oldest family businesses changes hands.

For Peter and Marcia, it’s the end of a chapter in their lives.

“It’s not a job,” Peter said. “It’s a lifestyle.”

Peter’s earliest memory of being in the shop was when he was around four years old. He distinctly remembers the layout with the shopfront being divided into two spaces.

“I used to sit on a stool in the corner,” he recalled.

When his parents owned the business, Peter remembers walking to the shop from their home around the corner early in the morning to visit his dad while it was still dark outside.

From 1966 to 1971, Peter attended boarding school in Lismore and would work in the shop when he returned during the holidays.

It was a novelty for him back then, riding around town on the sideboards of his dad’s customised car delivering newspapers door to door. 

When Peter finished school and returned to Gloucester, he began working in the shop full-time. From 1971 until Sunday, Peter has been a permanent fixture in Channell’s Newsagency. 

“I don’t consider myself a business man,” Peter explained. “I grew into it. Dad was the same.”

For Marcia, working a Channell’s was her first job when she left school at 16 years old. In 1971, she began working at the Gloucester Advocate and continued to do so until 1981, when they bought the business and they had their first child.

“My whole working life has been about newspapers,” Marcia smiled.

The couple continued to run the business and raise their two sons, Nicholas and Glenn. Over the years, the pair have been an important employer in town, with many Gloucester residents having worked there at some time or another.

Although they have officially retired, Peter will continued to enjoy the early part of the day.

“I love to get up pre-dawn,” he said. “You get to watch a place come to life.”

Otherwise, the couple will be spending time with their grandchildren and, “Learn to live as a normal human,” Peter laughed.