Burnups Furniture Court Supplying Whitsunday Families For 74 Years

Burnups Furniture Court started up in 1950 and has been a generational family business ever since, serving the needs of the community by bringing quality furnishings to the region.

First opened as a ‘hole in the wall’ shop on Bowen’s … street, it expanded to a much larger showroom on Powell Street that John, Lillian and the Burnup children also lived on top of.

Eventually John’s son Clive took over the business, and again expanded it with the addition of warehousing. Clive saw the industry change greatly over the years with the development of Aussie made, imported and technological advancements.

Clive opened a second shop in Proserpine, and third in Airlie Beach, eventually combining the two business into one large store in its current location in the year 2000.

During this time, they also incorporated the Beds R Us store into the store.

They have now welcomed their daughter Issy into the business.

Burnup’s current Cannonvale store was built before the shopping centre, “Many people at the time thought it was insane to build in the middle of the cane paddock, but then the shopping centre built around us” said Issy Burnup.

Having studied interior design at university, Issy is well equipped with knowledge about modern trends and styles. She is proud to bring her qualifications and skills to the family business and looks forward to continuing the legacy.

Issy uses her design qualifications to assist commercial clients through their Burnups Design Division. Assisting with the planning, conceptualisation and installation of projects, Issy is able to work with her clients timelines and individual needs.

To ensure their retail customers get the best quality furniture, the Burnups team personally visits factories across Australia and Asia. “It's a family affair, we'll go over, we'll all have a say to try and get a good mix,” said Issy.

“We always try our best to cater to different people, because around here there is a strong coastal influence, but then we've also got our more rural areas – so we try and cater for a wide range of styles.”

Unlike most furniture stores, Burnups Furniture Court will order lots of stock, so customers do not have to wait for their new furniture to arrive.

Clive Burnup said “We tend to back ourselves, we'll buy a whole container full of furniture and then we'll put it in our warehouse.”

“We will have one on the floor with backup stock in Airlie Beach and Bowen warehouses. We can generally supply most things quickly which our customers love!”

Clive Burnup is also proud to say that they have been appointed by Lazboy to be a specialist Gallery store in both their Airlie Beach and Bowen locations. With a dedicated showroom and exclusive products, the Burnup’s team aim to provide a wide offering and quality range of Lazboy products.

With the family having been based in the region for 3 generations, they have seen the area develop exponentially to what it is today and are proud to have supported the community through sponsorship of sporting teams, the Proserpine Show Ball, and many other community events.

“At Burnup’s we are a hands-on family team and we treat our team as family; with some staff members such as our Bowen manager, Dale Bidgood, having been with us for over 25 years,” said Clive.

“We have supported the area for over 74 years, and as such are both pleased and thankful that the community has supported us back.”

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Issy Burnup, Jennifer Burnup and Clive Burnup, Photo credit: Daniel Heggie

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