Horse-drawn cart to luxury store: The Lebanese families who transformed Toowoomba over 100 years

Immigration is sewn into the fabric of northern Lebanese town of Kfarsgab with the first exodus beginning in the 1890s to escape a devastating famine. Among these migrants were Naeem, who became Norman, and Labiba, who became Lavina, and a family name of Hanna which has become a byword for luxury department stores in the south-western Queensland town of Toowoomba.

The Hannas of Toowomba, Lavina and Norman, in 1939 in their truck that will become the renowned Hannas store with Collin Stevens Source: Rodney Sleba, Petra Taok

Highlights

• The Hanna and Stevens families migrated more than 100 years ago to Toowoomba to become an essential part of the fabric of the society there.
• A roving truck selling vegetables, fabrics became one of the most important stores in Toowoomba by the mid-1950s and to this day is known as "Hannas".
• The Stevens family is celebrating six generations and 100 family members in Australia.

Those who visit Hannas can’t escape seeing a touching old photograph near the entrance of Norman and his wife Lavina receiving customers.

The Hanna dynasty began with a travelling horse and cart from which Norman sold fruit and vegetables then graduated to clothes and fabrics.

Meanwhile, the Stevens family, which also descended from Lebanese migrants, is celebrating six generations and 100 family members in Toowoomba.

The Stevens family also left Kfarsgab, on the northern side of the Kadisha Valley, a few decades earlier, to escape famine.

Their ancestor, Michael, and his wife Susan, walked from Sydney to Toowoomba on a six-month trip in 1895.

Norman and Lavina Hanna with their 10 children in Towoomba Source: John Hanna

Norman and Lavina Hanna initially settled in Goondiwindi with their eldest child, three-month-old Joseph, with Norman’s brother, Jamil.

They stayed there for six months to adapt and learn English after which the small family moved to Toowoomba to start their journey of stability and there was a large Lebanese community waiting for them.

John Hanna and Colin Stephens on the Sleba farm in Towoomba with journalist Petra Taok. Source: Petra Taok

Norman and Lavina had 10 children, six boys and four girls, and the whole family and grandchildren were supported by the selling fruit and later clothes and fabric from a cart.

Son John spoke about the migration of his parents and said:

“My father came through the Suez Canal to Perth, then to Sydney and my brother Joe was three months old,” he said.

My mother used to grow vegetables and pistachios for my father to sell on his cart and both of them worked hard.

“He was walking around with his cart as a salesman and his Sydney cousin suggested he open a store in Toowoomba.”

The Hannas renowned store in Towoomba launched in 1950 Source: Hanna family, Petra Taok

Before that, Norman’s cart was replaced by a truck he had bought from the Stevens family in Derby.

Hannas’ red curtain truck became recognised throughout Toowoomba and surrounding areas as a roving shop for fabrics and clothing.

Although Norman was a stranger to Australian language and culture, he quickly developed long-term friendships with his clients and, in the mid-1950s, he opened his first store with his sons Joe and John working alongside him.

Then, when each of their eight brothers finished their studies, they also started working at the store.

Norman and Lavina in the kitchen in James Street along with their famous store Source: Hanna family, Petra Taok

Norman and his family embraced the best of Australian life without losing touch with their roots and the heritage of their language, John said.

John says he feels Lebanese despite his birth and upbringing in Australia and enjoys Lebanese dishes, especially “Kubba”.

Stevens family documents past struggles on way to success

The Stevens family has its own story and challenges as well as having a history as one of Toowoomba’s oldest migration journeys.

Some believe the Stevens' family descended from the family of Stephen Shamshom, who left Lebanon more than 100 years ago.

Collin, the third son of Vince and Rachel Stevens, told SBS Arabic24 how his grandfather, Michael, emigrated to Australia after losing his family and sisters to famine in World War I.

Michael’s grandfather emigrated to Australia in 1895 and worked there until 1907 when he returned to Lebanon to marry Susan and return to Australia in 1910.

“My story began with my mother, the eldest daughter of Michael and Susan, who was born on September 28, 1911,” Collin said.

My father was born in Lebanon in 1907 and unfortunately all we know about his history is that he lost his family and relatives to famine in World War I and his uncle brought him to Australia in 1921.

Michael and Susan’s love yielded six children, 40 grandchildren and the Stevens family today celebrates their sixth generation in Toowoomba, while Collin's 64-year marriage has produced 12 children and seven grandchildren.

“We celebrate six generations and 100 Stevens family members in Australia,” he said.

The Stevens of Towoomba marking a centenary of immigration from North Lebanon Source: Colin Stevens

Collin said: “My grandfather and his sister walked from Sydney on a six-month journey and so they wouldn’t get lost on the road, they walked alongside the railway with a sheet of paper on which was written the name of the town – Toowoomba - where they were going to settle.”

Because the family motto was service, Michael and Susan succeeded in every job they did and in every store they opened, he said.

"My father was illiterate, but my mother was educated, so they collaborated in every business or shop he founded, and their motto was service and they left a mark on Toowoomba,” he said.

Collin Stevens speaking to journalist Petra Taok,SBS Arabic24 Source: Petra Taok

Australian-born Collin revealed his attachment to Lebanon, although he had never been able to visit:

"I’m Lebanese Australian, and my parents didn’t speak Arabic in the store," he said.