Annandale’s Trusted Local Hardware Store

About Us

Booth & Taylor Hardware in Annandale are dedicated to providing top-quality hardware products and exceptional service. At Booth & Taylor Hardware, you can expect a welcoming environment, a team of passionate professionals, and the highest quality hardware products on the market. Our store has been serving the Annandale community since 2013, and we dedicate this long-term commitment to our valued customers every day.

A History Of Booth & Taylor

The names “Booth and Taylor” have been synonymous with building supplies in the inner-west for over a hundred years. John Booth, who was born in London in 1822, “stopped ashore” at Kincumber, Brisbane Water in 1840 to learn shipbuilding and in 1846 turned master builder. In 1854 he moved to Balmain, where he initially engaged in shipbuilding before opening a sawmill on Johnston’s Bay at the site that later became the container terminal. His business prospered, and he became active in politics, initially as the first Mayor of Balmain and subsequently as the local member for West Sydney in State Parliament. He died in 1898, when Booth and Taylor’s present home was constructed.

Allan Taylor was by far the younger of the two. In the early 1890’s he established the timber supply firm of Allen Taylor & Co Ltd., of which he was the managing director. In 1895, he stood for election to the Borough Council of Annandale, becoming chairman of the works committee in 1896 and mayor from 1897-1902.

After a trip to Britain and Europe “mainly to get a practical knowledge of municipal methods and requirements in older lands”, he was elected to the Sydney Municipal Council. He was Lord Mayor in 1905-06 and 1909-12. In that capacity, he was responsible for a number of major projects, including the extension of the council’s electric power to the suburbs and the widening of Oxford Street. Taylor Square is named after him. He was knighted in 1911. In 1912, he was nominated to the Legislative Council and subsequently elected to that chamber when reconstituted in 1933. He died in office after re-election in 1940.