Fullers Bookshop was born in Hobart in the early 1920s. After the First World War, W. E. (Bill) Fuller was associated with Walches and the booksellers Oldham, Beddom and Meredith (OBM), but eventually set up on his own shop. Ever since, Fullers Bookshop has been a central part of the bookselling and cultural scene in Tasmania. Bill published a Tasmanian Miscellany in the early 1930s and I believe this was Fullers’ first publication.
In 1961 the shop was taken over by Cedric and Ian Pearce, famous not only as booksellers but also as jazz musicians. As Hobart grew and rents and locations became difficult, the shop became migratory; in Collins Street before the Cat and Fiddle development, and then to Cat and Fiddle. My first visit to the shop was in 1964 - I can remember Dad spending seventy pounds and commenting on the excellence of the range.
Cedric became ill and the shop was run down; it was purchased by Ian Drinkwater in about 1980. I bought Fullers in 1982 with an accrued loss and gently nursed it back to health. In 1992 we moved back into Collins Street, put in a cafe and moved into another level of business. In 2001, Fullers Bookshop opened a second shop in Launceston where we have made a niche for ourselves in a very competitive book-buying market.
In 2009 the Hobart shop moved again - up the road to a bright new space (with a fabulous view of the mountain) - which has confirmed our status as Tasmania’s leading booksellers and a fundamental component of Tasmania’s cultural landscape. We host a wide range of author events, readings, discussions and book groups, publish books on Tasmanian history and flora, and actively contribute to Tasmania’s literary community.
Clive Tilsley Owner, Fullers Bookshop