A COLLECTIVE shiver up the spine of Warrnambool businesses was felt when the winds of retail change blew through the city 25 years ago.
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Amid the flat pastures to the east of the city, the construction of a new shopping complex had left businesses in Liebig Street increasingly worried.
The south-west's own "mini Chadstone" was first flagged in August 1978, nearly a decade before it opened. The $7 million centre was to feature a Super Kmart outlet, McEwan's Hardware and Coles New World supermarket among other smaller traders.
Developers were keen to promote the concept of indoor retail, one-stop shopping and "space-age technology" at the new discount Shangri-la.
So it is no wonder that the backlash from Liebig Street traders was as swift as it was angry.
Legal action and a committed campaign prevented the centre from opening in 1979 as planned and delayed foundation works being laid until 1984.
Developers persevered and the project was dubbed Gateway Plaza after a public naming competition the following year.
The centre's grand opening in March 1986 was a self-generated spectacle.
Shoppers from as far away as Horsham and Mount Gambier clambered to spend more than $1 million at Gateway's first day.
Even television personality Jimmy Hannan was wheeled in to add a dash of celebrity.
Analysis of cheques and lay-by purchases in the first week found that trade was split in half between shoppers from the Warrnambool region and those from the wider Western District.
In Liebig Street, some ripples of changing shopping habits were already being felt before the eastern threat had opened its doors.
Iconic department store Youngers closed in the early 1980s and was replaced by Centrepoint Arcade. Some shop fronts changed businesses as regularly as the seasons.
By 1988, some big thinkers considered transforming a portion of Liebig Street into a pedestrian mall. The concept was largely rejected but has re-appeared in the years since.
The family of long-serving businessman Max Taylor has owned and managed a Liebig Street clothing store for several generations, spanning more than 75 years.
He said there was widespread concern from city centre businesses during the mid-1980s about whether some shops could survive against the might of multinational retailers.
"There was a novelty surrounding 'indoor shopping' at the time but Liebig Street bounced back only a few years after it opened," Mr Taylor said.
"Having said that, loyalty is dead, it's a thing of the past. Small businesses have to be competitive and offer quality service.
"Unlike other cities across Victoria, Warrnambool retail stays reasonably stable and consistent. We don't have the big highs in trade but we don't have the big lows either and it's rare to see empty shop-fronts around town."
Former Warrnambool mayor Ron Patterson, who was present at Gateway Plaza's grand opening, said city businesses at the time were ambivalent towards the new shopping centre in the east.
He said the centre's sprawling car park was a major attraction to south-west shoppers who were finding it more and more difficult to find parks in Liebig, Koroit and Lava streets.
"I think it was probably ahead of its time in some respects," the former mayor said.
"When it was being built out there it was reasonably isolated and now the city has grown around it.
"The Super Kmart was the first supermarket in the area to have electronic scanners which was a big thing in the 1980s.
"Businesses were in two minds about it because on one hand you'd have more people coming into Warrnambool to shop but then on the other hand, direct competitors would have to lose some business."
Long-time Liebig Street businessman John Lindsay agreed there were mixed feelings on the Gateway development during the mid-1980s but believed the past 25 years have shown that the shopping centre had been good for the city's commercial sector.
He said the centre had kept the majority of big-ticket sales within Warrnambool instead of shoppers looking further afield to Melbourne and Geelong.
"There was some concern that it would split the CBD trade and push more people to the east of the city but for many years it was also considered a tad remote for some shoppers," Mr Lindsay said.
"Parking was adequate in the main streets but free parking at Gateway lured some away. It caused some short-term drift but in the longer term it has reduced the sales trend of people going to Melbourne and Geelong to shop for larger items."
Savoy Restaurant owner Alan Tampion said the city centre had managed to survive and thrive in the quarter-century since the east Warrnambool plaza opened.
The Liebig Street businessman and historian said the CBD had maintained popular retailers and banking services due to an expansion of car parking and providing timeless customer service.
"There was a lot of concern at the time. Some of it was justified, but here we are in Liebig Street in 2011 and many of the established businesses are still here," Mr Tampion said.
"Taylors, Materias (greengrocers) and the Savoy were all in Liebig Street well before Gateway Plaza and are still here today.
"There was probably a small decline in trade for the few months after it opened but the city centre is now busier than it's ever been."
Gateway Plaza was really a harbinger of greater commercial expansion in east Warrnambool.
Another complex with a Harvey Norman outlet sprouted just over 10 years later, followed by the Homemaker Centre, Bunnings and the nearly-complete Woolworths supermarket in the past decade.
While some residents yearn for the days of Liebig Street dominance, most in 1986 had accepted that the development was an unavoidable part of Warrnambool's growth as a regional city.
The Standard editorial at the time summed it up best: "Big time shopping has come to the district and we have to realise we are within 14 years of the new century. The simple fact was that the old ways could no longer meet the machinations of a rapidly changing community."