William Dymock

William Dymock
Born	North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died	5 October 1900(1900-10-05) (aged 39)
Occupation(s)	Bookseller, publisher
Known for	Founder of Dymock's Book Arcade; first Australian-born successful bookseller

William Dymock (11 May 1861 – 5 October 1900) was a prominent Australian bookseller and publisher, notable for being the first Australian-born individual to successfully establish a bookselling enterprise.

Early life and career

Dymock was born in North Melbourne, Victoria, to Scottish parents Walter Dymock, a wheelwright by trade, and Janet McFarlane. During his childhood, his family relocated to Redfern in Sydney. He attended Cleveland Street Public School before beginning his career in the book industry. His initial apprenticeship was with John Andrews on Pitt Street, followed by employment at James Reading and Company, and subsequently at George Robertson and Company.

Dymock's Book Arcade

Following a period of study in England's book trade and an introduction to bookseller Bernard Quaritch, Dymock returned to Sydney in the early 1880s to found Dymock's Book Arcade. His business expanded through the acquisition of several companies, including The Picturesque Atlas Publishing Company and Maddock's circulating library in 1896, which he retained as part of his operations well into the 1930s.

The arcade occupied various premises within Sydney's central business district—initially at 208 Pitt Street and 142 King Street—and from 1890 onward at 428 George Street, where it remains located. The George Street location was notably spacious (measuring 200 feet by 30 feet) and promoted as "the largest Book Shop in the world," boasting an inventory exceeding one million volumes.

Dymock served both general customers and collectors such as David Scott Mitchell and Alfred Lee by offering new publications alongside rare antiquarian books. Acting as an agent for Quaritch, he secured important antiquarian collections like those of Sir George Wigram Allen and Dr George Bennett. Mitchell played a key role in steering Dymock’s attention towards the commercial potential of historic Australian literature, contributing significantly to the business’s expansion.

In 1886, Dymock initiated a publishing venture that featured some of the earliest pictorial works depicting Sydney.

Public service

In December 1898, Dymock was elected Alderman for Macquarie Ward in Sydney, representing the Citizens' Reform Committee, a role he fulfilled until October 1900.

During 1900, he provided testimony before the Legislative Assembly’s select committee investigating the Sydney Free Public Library. The proceedings revealed conflicts between Dymock, his competitor Angus & Robertson, and H. C. L. Anderson, the library’s Principal Librarian. Dymock accused Anderson of awarding library contracts preferentially to Angus & Robertson despite their tenders being noncompetitive. Anderson defended his decisions and retorted by criticizing Dymock for supplying municipal libraries with what he termed "trashy" literature, including popular but lowbrow authors such as Fenimore Cooper and Mayne Reid. Dymock admitted that his inventory deliberately included more affordable books aimed at working-class readers alongside material for more scholarly audiences.

Furthermore, Dymock argued that the Free Public Library should continue procuring books through English agents like Trübner & Co., whereas Anderson and Angus & Robertson contended this practice caused delays and led to unsuitable selections. They advocated instead for sourcing from local Sydney booksellers who offered faster service and superior stocks of Australian titles.

Personal life and death

Dymock never married and resided with his sister Marjory Forsyth and her husband in Randwick. He was an active Freemason and participated in various social and sporting clubs.

He passed away suddenly on 5 October 1900 at age 39 due to an apoplectic seizure. Following his death, management of the bookstore transferred to the Forsyth family, who developed it into Dymocks Booksellers—now Australia’s largest chain of franchised bookshops.

Further reading

• George Adie Ferguson, Some Early Australian Bookmen (Canberra: Australian National University Press, 1978)
• John Holroyd, George Robertson of Melbourne, 1825-1898: Pioneer Bookseller & Publisher (Melbourne: Robertson & Mullens, 1968)
• Martyn Lyons, "Case-study: Dymock's", in Martyn Lyons and John Arnold (eds.), A History of the Book in Australia, 1891-1945: A National Culture for a Colonised Market (St. Lucia, Queensland: University of Queensland Press, 2001)
• James R. Tyrrell, Old Books, Old Friends, Old Sydney (Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1952)