McWhirters
| McWhirters Marketplace | |
|---|---|
 Wickham Street entrance, 2020 | |
| Location | Wickham Street, Fortitude Valley, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Coordinates | 27°27′27″S 153°02′04″E / 27.4574°S 153.0344°E |
| Official name | McWhirters Marketplace, McWhirters, McWhirters & Son Ltd, Myer |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 21 October 1992 |
| Reference no. | 600214 |
| Significant period | 1902–1931 (fabric) 1902–1955 (historical, McWirters) |
  Location of McWhirters Marketplace in Queensland | |
McWhirters is a heritage-listed former department store at Wickham Street, Fortitude Valley, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is also known as McWhirters Marketplace, McWhirters & Son Ltd, and Myer (Fortitude Valley). It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.[1]
It has been redeveloped as a shopping centre and apartment building. The buildings occupy over an acre of land bound by Brunswick, Wickham, and Warner Streets.
History
The McWhirters department store, comprising 4 adjoining brick buildings of from three to five storeys in height, was erected in four stages on land acquired between 1899 and 1929, by Brisbane draper James McWhirter and the firm of McWhirter & Son Ltd (later McWhirters Ltd).[1]
On arrival in Australia in 1878 from
James McWhirter was an experienced manager and astute businessman who established his drapery business just as the Queensland economy was recovering from the severe economic depression of the 1890s. Despite the slowing of the economy engendered by the widespread drought of 1900–1902, McWhirter was in a position to capitalise on Queensland's economic boom of the early 20th century, and within three decades the firm he established in 1898 had expanded from a small drapery business to one of Brisbane's largest and most sophisticated department stores, with a principal store occupying over an acre of land bounded by Brunswick, Wickham and Warner Streets, Fortitude Valley, at the well-known Valley Corner.[1][2]
In the early years of the 20th century, Fortitude Valley, centred around the intersection of Wickham and Brunswick Streets (the Valley Corner), became one of the most important shopping centres in Brisbane. This is explained partly by the ready availability of efficient public transport –
From its establishment in 1898, McWhirter & Son expanded rapidly. In 1899 McWhirter purchased the allotments at the northeast corner of the busy intersection of Wickham and Brunswick Streets, although these were not occupied by McWhirters for another three decades. In 1902 the firm also acquired land at 48 Warner Street, at the rear of their Brunswick Street shop, and extended the Brunswick Street building the depth of the block between Brunswick and Warner Streets. In 1905 they secured an adjoining allotment in Warner Street, on which they erected another warehouse, which appears to be an extension of the c. 1902 building. In 1905 the firm was registered as a private company, McWhirter & Son Ltd, and by 1907 was listed at 292-298 Brunswick Street, having expanded into several adjacent shops east of the original building. By 1909 the firm employed 270 staff, had established a London office, directly imported many lines, and had developed an extensive
In 1910 McWhirter acquired title to four more allotments in Warner Street, and between 1910 and 1914 to the two allotments in Brunswick Street occupied by his first store and adjacent premises to the west. The Warner Street land was situated between McWhirter's existing 48 Warner Street warehouse and Wickham Street, with long frontages to both streets. Reportedly purchased for £8,000, McWhirter intended to erect on this site, thoroughly modern and well-equipped buildings, such as will meet the requirements of the ever-increasing trade.[1]
McWhirter commissioned Brisbane architects
The grand new store housed over 50 departments.
Clearly, McWhirters had identified their principal clientele as female, and dedicated the new building to this market. The men's clothing department had been relegated to the Brunswick Street store, although it did take up most of this building. A new boot department was opened, serving both male and female customers, but this was not located in the 1912 building.[1]
McWhirter's 1912 store was one of the first of the big Brisbane department stores – rivals included TC Beirne and Overells in Fortitude Valley,
To complement the refined department store environment, customers (predominantly female) experienced a superior quality of service, the object of which was to make them feel special and confident. Often this entailed an attitude of deference, but more commonly in Australia this developed into cheerful, polite efficiency and promises of honesty and fair dealing. Whichever method was employed, the aim was the same – to encourage spending.[1]
McWhirter and Son Ltd were at the cutting edge of department store culture in Brisbane, prospering through the 1910s despite the slowing of the Queensland economy during the First World War. About 1918 a substantial, 4-storeyed brick bulk store was erected in Warner Street opposite McWhirters' c. 1902-1905 warehouse. One floor of this contained a staff dining hall/meeting room. By 1921 McWhirter's Motor Garage was operating on the north side of Ballow Street in Fortitude Valley, to house and service the firm's fleet of delivery vehicles.[1]
After the First World War, James McWhirter (senior) decided to visit Britain leaving in March 1919, leaving his son James (Jimmy) McWhirter junior in charge of the business.
James McWhirter died in England in 1925, but the firm of McWhirters Ltd continued to grow, paralleling the development of Fortitude Valley as a thriving commercial centre, with its three competing anchor stores of TC Beirne, Overells and McWhirters. By the 1930s, McWhirters had also branched into shirt manufacture, with their own clothing factory in the Valley. The mail order department had remained an important and lucrative aspect of the business, and McWhirters also offered credit and lay-by systems. Part of the success of McWhirters, like other early 20th century department stores in Brisbane, lay also in the value placed by management on employees. By 1931, some of the nearly 800 McWhirter employees had been with the firm over 3 decades, and staff had their own benefit society.[1]
In 1929 the company secured title to the lane off Wickham Street beside their 1912 store, and in 1930–31, just as Australia was being caught up in a severe, worldwide economic depression, McWhirters Ltd constructed a four and five-storeyed brick building on the corner of Brunswick and Wickham Streets, linking the facades of their 1912 and 1923 buildings. The steel framed building with reinforced concrete walls and facework in brick and terracotta, was designed by the Brisbane architectural firm of TR Hall and LB Phillips (who also designed the Brisbane City Hall, Shell House, and the Tattersalls Club Members Dining Room).[2][5] It featured a principal truncated corner, richly decorated in the Art Deco style, which became a landmark advertisement for the store on the busy Valley Corner. The builder was George Alexander Stronach of Brisbane, who tendered with a price of £112,000; the 800 long tons (810 t) of structural steel was manufactured and erected by local firm Evans, Deakin, & Co. Ltd; and Wunderlich supplied the terracotta tiles used on the truncated corner as well as pressed metal and fibrous cement ceilings. McWhirters department store now had a floor space of 6.5 acres (2.6 ha).[1]
The exterior facades of the 1930–1931 building were designed to replicate those of the 1912 and 1923 buildings, but internally the building reflected new trends in department store presentation. There were no partitions, each floor measuring about 300 by 200 feet (91 by 61 m), with supporting concrete pillars masked by stained wood cabinets. Large twin-elevators were installed and the pneumatic tube system was extended. On the ground level three separate "lock-up" shops fronted Brunswick Street, for businesses which traded after normal (5.30pm closing) store hours.[1]
In 1955 the
In 1989 the property was redeveloped as McWhirters Marketplace, entailing extensive internal refurbishment.[1]
In 1997, it was altered to include apartments on the upper levels.
Description
McWhirters is centrally located in Fortitude Valley on a site bound by Wickham, Warner and Brunswick Streets. It comprises four adjoining buildings which form a large brick three, four and five-storeyed complex.[1]
The building fronting Warner Street (c. 1902-05, is a three-storeyed pale brick building with a parapeted
The five-storeyed 1912 brick building occupies the corner of Brunswick and Wickham Streets. Its facade has continuous
The four-storeyed 1923 brick building faces Brunswick Street. The facade is similar to the 1912 building facades in materials, with some variation in detailing. The facade has a continuous arched brick spandrel above the third level windows, and a substantial parapet which also bears the McWhirters name. It has a concrete internal structure.[1]
The 1930–1931 building facing Brunswick and Wickham Streets is four and five storeys, and matches, with identical detailing, the facades of the 1912 and 1923 sections. The facades are linked with a richly detailed truncated corner with
The corner entrance doors are set in arched polished black stone surrounds. The entrance
The entire building is encircled with a stepped metal awning, which has a sheeted soffit on Brunswick Street and a pressed metal soffit with floral motifs on Wickham and Warner Streets. Two sets of timber and etched glass entrance doors have been incorporated into the refurbishment in the 1912 section.[1]
The exterior form and detailing of McWhirters remains largely intact, although the ground floor brickwork and openings are mostly new. The building retains its prominence, contributing to the early 20th century commercial character and streetscape of centre Fortitude Valley. Its distinctive corner assumes landmark status. Some fine remnants of the early 20th century department store interiors are visible, including the roof structure of the c. 1902-1905 building, remains of pressed metal ceilings and column decorations in the 1912 building, and decoration to the entrance hall of the 1930–1931 building.[1]
Heritage listing
McWhirters Marketplace was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992 having satisfied the following criteria.[1]
The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history.
The growth of the McWhirters complex is important in demonstrating the pattern and evolution of Queensland's history, reflecting the late 19th/early 20th century development of Fortitude Valley as a major commercial and shopping centre, which was sustained well into the post-Second World War period. Historically, McWhirters is also significant in providing evidence of the development and nature of early 20th century department stores in Queensland, and of the shopping culture engendered by them.[1]
The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage.
The 1930–31 building has a finely detailed landmark Art Deco corner demonstrating a rare aspect of Queensland's cultural heritage.[1]
The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places.
McWhirters is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a substantial early 20th century department store built in stages, and which employs elements of the facade as advertising and contains remnants of earlier department store decorative detailing in the c. 1902-05, 1912 and 1930–31 sections.[1]
The place is important because of its aesthetic significance.
McWhirters is of aesthetic value: it is a prominent building which makes a strong contribution to the commercial character and streetscape of centre Fortitude Valley; the fine interwar Art Deco corner is a Brisbane landmark; and the corner entrance foyer contains fine decorative detailing.[1]
The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.
McWhirters at the Valley Corner has a special association for Queenslanders, having symbolised "The Valley" to several generations of local residents and visitors alike.[1]
The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history.
The place has a special association with the life and work of James McWhirter and the firm of McWhirter & Son Ltd (later McWhirters Ltd), and with the work of architects Atkinson & McLay and Hall & Phillips. McWhirters also has a special association with the Wunderlich company, the 1930–31 corner facade being a major example of their work in Queensland.[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai "McWhirters Marketplace (entry 600214)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-74173-011-1.
- The Brisbane Courier. No. 19, 072. 5 March 1919. p. 11. Retrieved 3 January 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "DEATH OF "JIMMY" WcWHIRTER". Truth. No. 1, 021. Brisbane. 21 September 1919. p. 2. Retrieved 3 January 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ ISBN 9780646936598.
Attribution
External links
- "McWhirters". The Fashion Archives. 5 March 2015. — more information about the McWhirters business
- "THE SILVER JUBILEE OF M'WHIRTERS LIMITED". The Telegraph. No. 15, 856. Brisbane. 24 September 1923. p. 4. Retrieved 3 January 2017 – via National Library of Australia.