From Opening Day to Today: Bernadette’s 47 Years at Colonnades

She was here on day one. Nearly five decades later, she still calls Colonnades home. When Colonnades Shopping Centre opened its doors to the southern suburbs in 1979, Bernadette was there within the week. She has never left.

Now Colonnades’ longest-standing staff member, she has spent more than decades building something that very few people in any industry can claim: a community that keeps coming back, generation after generation.

“I still have clients from day one,” she says. “They come in every single week.”

For Bernadette, this was never just a career. She has been telling people she wanted to be a hairdresser since she was three years old. More than 60 years later, that conviction has not wavered.

“I was born to do hair,” she says. “It brings me so much satisfaction. You can bring your own flair to what you do.”

Bernadette began her journey at Colonnades at Rocco & Lazzari, which later became Colonnades Haircare. The salon moved locations within the centre over the years, and eventually she took over the business herself. Through every move, her clients followed.

A Different Kind of Centre

Colonnades in the late 80s and 90s was a different world. Smaller, more relaxed, trading only until 12:30pm on Saturdays with no Sunday hours at all.

“It was a lot more fun back then,” Bernadette recalls. “People didn’t take life as seriously. There were no security guards, not many rules, and we worked late most days.”

The original tenants included Kmart, Coles and Myer. On the lower level, where Smokemart sits today, there was the much-loved Chicken Man, who sold every cut of chicken imaginable. On the corner where Liquorland is located, the Doughnut Man held court. And if you needed to pay a gas or electricity bill, you drove to Marion.

“I even remember having to go to Marion just to pay gas and electricity in those days,” she says, laughing.

Trends and Hair Transformations

Hair trends have shifted dramatically over Bernadette’s career, but the early 1980s stand out as one of the most demanding periods she can remember.

“My hands would bleed after a shift,” she says. “Miners would come in and pay $150 to $200 just for dreadlocks, which was a lot of money back then.”

A women’s haircut cost around $15 in those early years. Today, a perm can run upwards of $160. Pricing is not the only thing that has changed.

When asked which trends she would love to see return, Bernadette does not hesitate.

“The loose, shaggy, sexy look,” she says. “And pixie cuts. They are perfect. Once they are done, they are so easy to maintain.”

Three Generations in the Chair

Perhaps the clearest measure of Bernadette’s impact is not the years she has clocked, but the families she has held onto. She has watched clients’ children grow up, and then their children’s children. Some of her longest-standing clients are now well into their 90s.

“I have had clients for decades,” she says. “Some are well into their 90s now.”

That kind of loyalty is not built through marketing. It is built through consistency, care and showing up, every single week, for the people who trust you.

What Bernadette loves most about Colonnades is what it means to the community around it.

“Before Colonnades, life was more difficult,” she says. “Everything was spread out. Now it is convenient, with easy parking and everything in one place.”

Bernadette has lived in five different countries. She chose to stay in Noarlunga.

“This is my place,” she says simply.

Still Here. Still Cutting.

When asked what advice she would give to anyone considering a career in hairdressing, Bernadette keeps it simple.

“Put in the hard work and build good relationships. That is everything.”

It is, perhaps, the most honest summary of her own career you could ask for.

Bernadette remains at Hair Magic in Colonnades because she loves what she does, loves the people around her, and loves the community that has grown alongside her for nearly five decades.

From opening day to today’s modern retail hub, she has been part of every chapter. Cutting hair, building confidence, and shaping the kind of relationships that do not come with an expiry date.

We are proud to celebrate Bernadette, and grateful that she has called Colonnades home for nearly 50 years. Here’s to many more.