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Herbert Street No. 54.
The owner for many years of what was later known as No.54 Herbert Street, Henry, or “Parpy” Ludgate as he was affectionately known in Allora, had a long and interesting life. He was born in Co. Meath, Ireland, in 1840. His father and grandfather before him were members of the Irish Constabulary and, as government employees, were required by law to be members of the Established Church. His mother (nee Ellen Murphy) secretly taught him the doctrines of the Catholic Church and his refusal to be confirmed into the Church of England caused a rift with his father which was never healed. Henry left school at an early age to tend the stock on the small family plot. He joined the Irish police force in 1858 and served until he resigned to immigrate to Australia in 1865. On arrival, he joined the Queensland Police Force and served in various places before being transferred to Allora in 1874. He served here for 20 months before being again transferred. He returned to Allora as Officer-in-Charge in 1880 and served until 1889 when he was transferred to Dalby. Some of his older children had jobs in Allora so his wife and family stayed on. He retired from the police force in 1899 after 34 years service. On returning to Allora he was appointed a Justice of the Peace and served on the Allora Municipal Council from 1900 to 1913. He was the Mayor in 1902 and 1910. He took an active interest in the School of Arts and was secretary for 17 years until his death in 1929 in his ninetieth year.
“Auburn”, the Ludgate family home, was bought by Mrs. E. H. Gifford on the death of Henry Ludgate in March 1929. At the time of the 1929 fire it was vacant and was saved from the fire by a galvanized iron wall which had been built between it and Fitzgerald’s Drapery. Mrs. Gifford moved into “Auburn” and had a new building erected on the site, fronting Herbert Street. She moved her newsagency, which she had bought in 1924, from No. 44A to occupy the new building. The new business opened on the 1st January 1930. Gordon Gifford took over the management of his mother’s newsagency in 1933.
On the 1st January 1983, after 53 years in the hands of the Gifford family, the business was bought by Noel and Suzanne Forster. The interior of the building was renovated and the name changed to Allora News. Noel was a grandson of George Forster who had owned a café at No.52 from 1919 to 1920 and his mother was a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Stewart of Allora. Noel and Suzanne sold the newsagency in April 1998 to David and Zita Dwan, another couple with strong Allora connections. David and Zita are the current owners of Allora News.
Herbert Street No. 58.
In 1906 a new building was constructed for the CBC bank on land previously owned by the Ludgate family. The bank occupied this building until the new one was built on the Warwick/Herbert Streets corner in 1910. By 1923 the façade had been removed and an awning added and the building was occupied by H. C. Patrick, the draper, who also operated No. 60. At the time of the 1929 fire, A. R. Cunnington had a café in the old bank building and the Cunnington family lived in a house at the rear. Arthur Cunnington raised the alarm at the time of the fire.
By the late 1940’s the café was run by the Tobin brothers (Jack and Len). Another building must have been added because they were known as Tobin’s Buildings. Mr. and Mrs. Tom Collins had a barber shop, ladies hairdresser and frock shop in the main part of the building and lived in the residence. After they left, Jack Tobin, an ex-policeman, opened up in the centre part of the building. He dealt in everything including hardware, machinery, electrical goods and real estate. The hardware shop was originally run as Tobin and Dwyer. The café was leased to R. J. Hesse and then Mrs. M. A. Jessberg. In 1954 Nick ‘The Greek’ Johnson opened the Central Cafe. There was a BP fuel bowser out the front and Nick, in his starched white apron, could serve you a freshly squeezed orange juice or 4 gallons of petrol with equal aplomb. It is interesting to note that at one time, he was one of seven fuel outlets in the town- White’s Garage; Wilson & Rigby; Bob Ball’s, Allora Motors; Tom and Mary Maher’s and the Esso Servicentre.
The middle part of No. 58 was occupied by a succession of electrical appliance retailers after Jack Tobin- L. B. Eastwell Pty. Ltd.; Andy Carney’s TV, Radio & Electrical; H. G. Palmer Pty. Ltd.; and J. P. & H. J. Delahunty.
The small shop on the left hand side was also occupied by a succession of tenants. In the 1950’s Shirley Stewart (Gwynne) did typewriting and bookkeeping; Mrs. M. O’Dea and Miss Hazel Geck (Sinton) dressmaking; Pat Maher (Buckle) dressmaking; and Dorrie Byrne, babies and children’s clothing. In addition there were other short term leases including “Cheapley’s”.
In 1967 Nick Johnson retired due to ill health and Delahuntys expanded into all three shops until their closure after Christmas 1978.
When David and Daphne Tomlinson bought Nos 58 and 60 in August 1982 they were vacant. They leased the larger part of No. 58 to Harry’s Furniture Shop. They opened a gift shop in the small shop over Christmas 1982 and then leased it to an insurance agent from Warwick for a short time. In March 1985 Rhonda Chandler opened Bunches & Bows gift shop and florists. This was carried on by Margaret Parsons after the Chandlers left for Western Australia. In April 1985 the Blue Nurses opened the All Sorts Shop in the residence part at the rear.
In August 1985 David and Daphne Tomlinson sold No. 58 to Wayne and Cindy Anderson who opened the Mid Town Snack Bar in the right hand section under the management of Wayne’s sister. The snack bar was taken over by Colleen, Debbie and Therese Mitchell in 1988 and operated until 1992.
After the closure of Bunches & Bows, Bob Hess had a small shop until Alan and Madeline Porteous opened the Horse and Carriage Café and Take-away. This was replaced by Dalrymple House café operated by Helen Kerr from 1999 to 14/2/2002 when the lease was taken over by Laurice Sefanski. Aunty Jack’s Restaurant and Take-away opened on 1st March 2002. No. 58 was at the time owned by Col and Val Willett and they used the other part for storage. On 12th July 2002 the building was destroyed by fire.
Kiwi and Sue Stephens bought the site and rebuilt, opening Central Hardware and Coffee Shop on 17th May 2003. This was sold to Beetle and Sue Wakeford in October 2004. Following the purchase of Allora Hardware by the Wakefords in October 2007, they consolidated their hardware business in No. 44. Central Hardware became Central Homewares in September 2008.
Please feel free to email the Historical Society with any corrections or additions. The address can be found on our “Contacts” page.
Herbert Street No. 60.
Steptoe & Wife
In an earlier “Looking Back” column I was mistaken in saying that Mengel’s tailor shop was moved to No. 60 to make room for the new Post Office in 1910. A study of a 1909 photo shows that the current shop and the tailor’s shop stood at the same time.
No. 60 has a long history of connection with the clothing trade. The loudest thing to be heard in the shop in the 80 years before Jim Leeson’s tenancy was the swish of cloth and the click of tailor’s scissors.
Bailey & Jones started a new drapery and clothing shop in Allora in September 1905. Before Christmas that year they moved into No. 60. A. R. Bailey went on to found the Toowoomba firm of A. R. Bailey & Sons which is still operating. Chas. Jones was his brother-in-law. Bailey left the partnership in 1908 and moved to Laidley. The Jones’ family operated the shop until Chas. Jones, a returned soldier, took up a Soldier Settlement block at Stanthorpe in 1919. It was then taken over by H. C. Patrick who owned the shop until he was bought out by W. H. Cross in 1929. The Cross family conducted the business during the war years when their son, Sgt. W. N. (Bill) Cross, enlisted in the RAAF and was killed in action in 1943. I am told by granddaughters Jan Hoey and Glenis Gilmore that Mr. and Mrs. Cross retired to Redcliffe in November 1947. The business was taken over by Ray and Una Croker and was called The Central Drapers. In June 1954 the shop was bought by Nev. and May Guy. Nev. operated his tailor’s business at the back of the shop. The Guy family operated the business until 1967 when they closed and shifted to Clifton. J. P. & H. J. Delahunty bought the shop and it was leased to Style Shoes from 1967 to 1969. Hope Delahunty opened the TAB in the early 1970’s and it operated until moved to the Royal Hotel in 1986. Jim and Margaret Leeson moved their Auctioneer’s and Real Estate business into No. 60. Many of you will remember the sign above the door, “Steptoe & Co”, the wooden leg in the window and the “seat of knowledge” out the front with Ken Telford in place. The Leeson’s traded until their retirement in 2002. David and Daphne Tomlinson owned the freehold at the time and they sold it to Rod and Lynn Close who opened the “Sunflower Gallery” in April 2003. After its closure the building was bought by Rob and Jane Gilmore and Jane moved her Allora Mountain Veterinary Clinic there. In October 2006 the business was taken over by the Warwick Veterinary Practice and now operates as the Allora Veterinary Clinic.
Allora Post Office.
From 1862 mail was delivered by horse back from Toowoomba via Drayton, Eton Vale, Pilton, Allora and Warwick to Maryland (Stanthorpe) once a week and return. Mrs. Agnes Gwynne who lived with her husband and family in a bark hut on the later site of the Church of England took delivery of the mail and sorted it. The Gwynnes moved to a cottage on the corner of Drayton and Forde Streets and on the 31st March 1863, Allora’s first post office was established with Mrs. Gwynne as postmistress The mail was delivered by Cobb & Co coach until December 1869 when the railway reached Hendon and Mr. James Gwynne was awarded the contract for the conveyance of the mail between Hendon and Allora.
In March 1872 a telegraph office was established in the town of Allora in a building in Drayton Street between the Royal Hotel and the water lane. Mrs. Gwynne remained as postmistress until February 1880 when she was replaced by Miss E. S. Medley. Tenders had been called for the construction of a new post office in Herbert Street in 1879 and by 1882 Andrew Gordon had completed the new post and telegraph office.
Miss Medley was replaced by Mr. H. Thompson in September 1883. Mr. Gargett, a son of the contractor who built the Toowoomba to Warwick railway, took over as post master in October 1888. Mr. H. Jeffries was appointed in May 1889 and was to serve in the position for just short of 20 years when he was transferred to Emerald in March 1909. He was succeeded by Mr. George Draney. Tenders had been called for the erection of a new post office in October 1908, but it was not until November 1910 that the new building was occupied. George Draney was replaced by J. C. Stewart in about August 1914. In December 1918, J. C. Stewart was transferred to Herberton and his place was taken by Mr. W. Rice. Mr. Rice retired from the Postal Service in January 1926. The postmaster at the time that the Post Office burned to the ground in April 1926 was Mr. W. H. Godding. Postal business was carried on from a room in the residence, which was saved from the fire, for two years before the new Post Office was built in 1928. The postmaster then, was Mr. N. A. Elliott who still held the position in December 1933.
Because of gaps in our records, postmasters in Allora in the 1930’s to the 1950’s are uncertain. Bill Quinlan served on the Allora postal staff in the 1930’s and 1940’s and may have been relieving Postmaster at times. Cecil Shambrook was postmaster in the early 1940’s as was Darcy Cahill in the late 1940’s until he was farewelled in January 1950. Mr. Hallam served in the position in the 1950’s and Bob Steel was postmaster in the early 1960’s, probably leaving about 1966 when he was replaced by Ken Macauley. Ron Teys was a long serving Postmaster in Allora from the early 1970’s to mid 1986. Also in the early 1970’s the telephone exchange was converted to automatic and the switchboard operators were no longer needed. Ron was the last of the official postmasters before the Post Office was run under a franchise system. Noel and Cherrie Smith bought the business in mid 1986 and sold to Jim and Barbara Corby in about May 1992. Paul and Mary Stark took over in about 1995 and ran the Post Office for 12½ years until 2007 when they sold to Nick and Patrina Gardner. In October 2009 the business was sold to Matthew and Belinda Hagenbach, the current owners.
Please continue on Herbert Street 5.
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