- published: 28 Jun 2014
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Bunnings Warehouse is Australia's largest hardware chain with stores in Australia and New Zealand. The chain is owned by Wesfarmers Limited.
In 1886 brothers Arthur and Robert Bunning left London to settle in Perth, Western Australia, and soon gained a government building contract, which led to them founding a group of building companies which later became 'Bunning Bros Pty Ltd'. They purchased their first sawmill the following year in the south west of Western Australia,and over the next few years they concentrated more on sawmilling and timber distribution and less on building.
The company expanded to include several new mills around Western Australia. In 1952, Bunnings Limited became a public company, expanded into retailing and purchased several hardware stores. In 1970, Bunnings bought the merchandising and sawmilling operations of the Hawker Siddeley Group. In 1983, they bought out Millars (WA) Pty Ltd and, in 1990, the Alco Handyman hardware operations. The Victorian and South Australian hardware stores McEwans, owned by James McEwans Ltd, were acquired by Bunnings in 1993, many being then closed, leaving only the best performers. Bunnings Limited was then bought out by Wesfarmers Limited in 1994.