As a rush of customers descend upon the store on that Thursday in April 1914, GJ was pleased when a policeman appeared, assuming that he was here to 'quell the throng'. GJ greeted him eagerly and thanked him for 'coming to help quieten the crowd'. The officer, however, was not there to keep the peace. In fact, GJ remembers he was acting on a higher authority. 'A policeman came to help because of the rush and I asked him how much it would cost if he were to stay and help all day. He replied that if he could have one of the bowls for his wife he would stay around until things quietened down' You can't know where you are going until you know where you have been , and whilst much has changed at Coles, the focus on customer satisfaction remains the same as it was on that energetic opening day. This book celebrates Coles' one hundred year history of providing quality, service and value to the Australian community. In addition to celebrating the last 100 years, the intent of the book is to reinforce corporate culture and strengthen Coles reputation as an Australian business with a long-standing heritage of supporting the community. Further to this, the book served as recognition of employees and gift to stakeholders of the business.