Mark Foy (businessman)

Mark Foy (1865-1950) was a prominent businessman who established the shopping emporium called Mark Foy's in Sydney. He also opened the Hydro Majestic Hotel in the Blue Mountains as a hydropathic resort with Swiss Doctor and spa water from Baden in Germany. In addition he was a keen sportsman with interests in rifle shooting, boxing, sailing and motor racing.

Mark Foy was born in Bendigo, Victoria in 1865. His father also called Mark Foy had emigrated from Ireland in 1858 with his wife Mary Macken and had gone to the goldfields where he participated in the establishment of various stores. In 1870 he moved to Melbourne where he set up a new drapery shop in Smith Street, Collingwood. This business prospered, occupying three shops by 1875 and six by 1880. Suffering from ill health he handed the firm to this eldest son Francis and left with his wife for Europe. In San Francisco his health worsened and he died on 14 January 1884. Soon afterwards Francis sold the stores and went with his younger brother Mark to Sydney to establish a new business under his father's name.

The brothers opened their Sydney store in 1885 in Oxford Street. The business expanded rapidly and more surrounding stores were opened. A London buying office was set up in 1890, and additional premises in Oxford Street were purchased in 1894. Mark Foy's Fair, a sale usually staged twice a year, became a highly anticipated event on the Sydney shopping calendar.

In 1888 Mark Foy married Annie Davey (1864-1921) who was the daughter of John Davey, a merchant from Melbourne. The couple had no children and in 1900 they were granted a divorce by the NSW Court. In the same year he married Elizabeth Dominica Tweedie who was the head of the Dressmaking Department in his Oxford Street Store. She was also advertised by the store as being a leading fashion expert and designer. The couple had four children, two sons and two daughters.

In 1891 Mark Foy founded the Sydney Flying Squadron Yacht Club. He challenged the sailing conventions of that time by having coloured sails and prize money. The Squadron’s boats were banned from the 1892 National Regatta because they carried coloured emblems. It was claimed that the emblems encouraged gambling and spoiled the look of the white sails on Sydney Harbour. In response Mark organised an opposition regatta which he financed himself and advertised it as a spectacle which could be enjoyed by all members of the public regardless of their social background.

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