David Cohen (1818-1902) arrived in NSW only in 1840, but the firm that was to bear his name had established a general store in West Maitland as much as four years previously, thanks to his brothers Samuel and Lewis, who had arrived in the colony in 1831 and 1834 respectively.

It is said that when the company was created some years later, the brothers' names were put in a hat and David's was the one drawn out.

The firm operated under his name thereafter, indeed for years after his death.

He was its public face.

The store in eastern High Street prospered, quickly becoming the largest in West Maitland, and it survived the depression of the 1840s.

A warehouse was built in 1854 and after a fire in 1865 a much larger one was constructed, designed by renowned architect Edmund Blacket and his

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