Bell's Milk Bar - History of Bells

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History Of Bells

Bells Milk Bar started out as a small confectionary store called
‘F. Fenton Confectioner’ in 1892.

The original building was situated on the same site that Bells now occupies.
Frederick Fenton was also a cordial maker. Mr Fenton hired John Joseph Longman
as his apprentice.

Fredrick F. Fenton

The original Fenton’s which later became Bells

By 1908, Fenton still owned the store, but Longman was left in charge of the Patton Street store.
Eventually Longman acquired the business.

Les Bell’s mother, Minnie Pearl Davis joined the business in 1903, as an apprentice cordial maker,
and later married Mr Longman. Minnie Pearl had three children to Longman: Eric, Robert and Eunice.
In 1918 Longman was killed in France in the First World War, leaving Minnie Pearl to run the shop on her own.
It became known as “Pearly Longman’s”

When she remarried on the 7^th March 1923 to Les Bell, a toolmaker on the South Mine,
The shop was known as “Pearly Bell’s”. Minnie Pearl was the true pioneer of Bells,
running the shop solo as ‘Old Les’ continued working on the mine.

Legend has it that she would stand out in the street until it was devoid of a single soul before closing;
Thus ensuring that no one was ever denied the opportunity to purchase one last special Bells drink.

The ‘Milk Bar” first appeared in Australia around 1932 in Sydney.Though “Pearly Bells” was already
an old soda fountain shop of much renown, council records indicate a major re-development of the shop in 1938.
This would have most likely been when it first became ‘Bells Milk Bar’.

The 1956 Bells Renovation

Les Bell was a perfectionist. He took his mother’s old recipes of the late 19th century
and added the 1950's ingredients to modernise them. The result can still be tasted today
- the drinks served here are made from Les Bell's famous secret recipes which he adapted
from his mother’s old fashioned recipes. They taste 'out of this world' and are a fine example of the benefit of
retaining the old traditions like small batch handmade syrups.

In 1980 the Bells sold the business. It was a quick sale forced by illness. The business then passed through a series of owners over the years, retaining much of the original fittings and furnishings, and of course, the syrup making.
Like many old milk bars in Australia, Bells Milk Bar became somewhat run down and nearly closed.
In 2004 Bells was rescued and revived by current owner Jason King and his mother Dianne Langley who has since exited the business.

Today, Bells is a nationally recognised Broken Hill tourism icon. Apart from restoring the interior of the business to some of its former glory, the 2007 addition of a Milk Bar Museum means that visitors to Bells can now learn all about the history behind the milk bar and café in Australia.

insideshop

Some of the most common stories / memories that people share about Bells include:

That the Bells had the first TV set in Broken Hill
Les Bell and his never-ending bag of jokes (some only for the boys’ ears)
The appearance of the shop – it was always spotless
Getting Ice cream in a Billy-can to take home and eat on the front lawn
Lining up on Sunday afternoon halfway down the street for a drink.
Running down the road from the Metro Theatre at half-time for a Bells drink
– they always had them lined up along the counter in waiting
Going on first dates at Bells
Hanging out with the group of motorcycle riders out the front of Bells

Click here to read people’s milk bar memories.

Over the last five years, Bells Milk Bar & Museum has been recognized with numerous awards.
Some of these are listed below:

2010
• Winner Best Heritage and Cultural Experience – Broken Hill Tourism Awards

2009

• Jason King (Bells Owner) Winner NSW Tourism Award for Sam Fizsman
Young Achiever in Tourism for his work with Bell Milk Bar.
• Winner Best Heritage and Cultural Experience – Broken Hill Tourism Awards

2008
• Bronze Medal Heritage And Cultural Tourism NSW Tourism Awards

2007
• Winner Heritage and Cultural Tourism NSW Tourism Awards
• Highly Commended Heritage and Cultural Tourism Qantas Australian Tourism Awards.

‘Wonderful service’

A Gordon, New Zealand