Nahum Moshe (Baevski) Myer (1897 - 1956)

Born 25 May 1897 in Tatarsk, Monastyrshchinsky, Smolensk, Russia (Belarus)

Ancestors

Husband of Grace Margaret (Roche) Myer — married 1922 (to 1951) in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Died 17 Dec 1956 at age 59 in Toorak, Victoria, Australia

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Biography

Norman (Baevski) Myer is Notable.

Norman (Baevski) Myer has Jewish Roots.

Norman (Baevski) Myer is an Anzac who served in World War One.

Sir Norman Myer was born Nahum Moshe Baevski on 25th May 1897 in Tatarsk, Monastyrshchinsky, Smolensk, Belarus. He was the son of Jewish parents Yacov Meer Baevski, a local manufacturer and trader, and his wife Chaya Sitz. His mother married again following his father's 1899 death.

Nahum's Uncle Simcha, by then known as Sidney Myer founder of the Myer Store in Victoria, sent for his nephew in 1908, who reached Melbourne on 7th February 1909 in the Frederich der Grosse.

He studied at Ashwick School (run by Reverend C H Nash), learning English. After the Myer retail business moved from Ballarat to Bourke Street, Melbourne in 1911, he began working there and continued his education at Wesley College.

Norman (Baevski) Myer is a Military Veteran.
Served in the Australian Imperial Force 1916-1920
1st Division Ammunition Column

He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in 1916 and served on the Western Front from August 1917 as a driver with the 1st Divisional Ammunition Column. He was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Australian Artillery. After investigating developments in retailing in the United States of America, he returned to Melbourne where his AIF appointment terminated on 19th March 1920. Nahum changed his name to Norman Myer and was naturalised on 21st April 1920.

He partnered a wartime friend, Arthur Long, in offering joy-ride flights over Melbourne and planned other commercial aviation ventures, but Sidney (who spent most of the 1920s living in California) wanted his nephew in the store. Norman was given charge of the hosiery department.

Norman married Gladys Roche on 14th March 1922 in a civil ceremony at 165 Collins Street, Melbourne. ^[1] They had a daughter, Pamela, and two sons. In 1951 he and Gladys were divorced.

Following the acquisition in 1928 of James Marshall & Co. Ltd, Adelaide, Norman and James Martin were placed in charge. Despite the Depression, the Myer Emporium (SA) Ltd proved a success. There, Norman gained valuable experience in merchandising, store management and administration; Gladys was important in dealings with the Adelaide establishment.

In 1934 the organisation was rocked by the death of Sidney Myer. After E L Neil and Elcon Myer died in 1938, Norman succeeded as chairman and managing director of the Myer Emporium Ltd, Melbourne. Believing in decentralisation, he appointed eight directors, giving them autonomy in their fields, while he concentrated on overall policy. His strengths were his direct involvement with people and his understanding of customer requirements. A property on the Mornington Peninsula was purchased for staff holidays and named Norman Lodge. During the Second World War he advised the Menzies and Curtin governments as a member of the Board of Business Administration. Norman was active in the Victorian division of the Australian Red Cross Society and the Australian Comforts Fund.

Norman oversaw the expansion of the firm into a huge retail organisation. He opened additional stores in Brisbane, and at Geelong and Ballarat, Victoria, a furniture factory at Footscray and woollen mills at Ballarat. Myer's had buying offices and agents throughout the world. He foresaw that the future of retailing lay in regional shopping centres.

Aged almost 55 years, Norman married 24-year-old Pamela Margaret Sallmann, a school contemporary of his daughter Pamela, on 19th April 1952 in the Methodist Church (now Uniting Church), Caulfield. ^[2]

Norman was created Knight Bachelor in May 1956 for services to philanthropy. ^[3]

Shortly after announcing the presentation of the Sidney Myer Music Bowl to the people of Melbourne, Norman died of cancer on 17th December 1956 in Whernside, his Albany Road, Toorak home, aged 59 years. ^[4] He was survived by his wife and their two sons, and the daughter and two sons of his first marriage.

No longer dominated by one man, the Myer Emporium continued to be managed by the family, but Norman's sons did not follow him into the business.

Sources

1. ↑ Victoria Marriage Index #2924/1922
2. ↑ Victoria Marriage Index #11043/1952; forenames listed as Norman John
3. ↑ Australian Honours; accessed 11 Oct 2023
4. ↑ Victoria Death Index #1786/1957; parents listed as John Myer and Zarah Levant]

See also

• Dunstan, David. 'Myer, Sir Norman (1897–1956)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 2000; accessed online 11 Oct 2023.
• 'Myer, Sir Norman (1897–1956)', Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University; accessed 11 Oct 2023.
• Wikipedia: Norman Myer; accessed 11 Oct 2023.