Ayers Shoe Repairs started life as E.P.Williams Ltd in the 1940's situated in Water St. near the Exchange.
They then moved to lower Stuart St. when Richard Ayers joined the firm. He had started the trade with Mattingly's shoe repairs in South Dunedin before joining Eric Williams. Then a shift around the corner to Castle St followed. The final move was in 1955 to its present site in upper Stuart St.
It was a busy shop with a team of seven and some part time workers. Eric Williams passed away in 1974 and Richard took over the business. Paul Ayers joined as an apprentice in 1975. In 1992 Richard went into semi-retirement and Paul took over the running of the business. At that time they changed the name to Ayers Shoe Repairs. Richard was still coming into the shop to help out even into his 80's. He had been a long serving member of Chisholm Park Golf Club which had become his passion.
Richard passed away peacefully on December 9th 2015 aged 88. He had been involved in the trade for over 70 years, a wonderful achievement !
Today Paul carries on the good work for people of Dunedin and Otago. The shop is open Monday to Friday 7.30am to 5.30pm. Then he relaxes on the weekends !