More Info →Corner of Victoria Avenue and Main Streets

The Quality Corner Stores Dairy on the corner of Victoria Avenue and Main Street. Note on the right corner of the photo is a railway sign. This photo must have been taken from the railway line. These buildings were erected during the 1880s as the residence and business premises or Richard Thacker, a well-known baker, whose wife (Mary Ann) ran a general store and post office in the two-storey building until about 1920. The property was later purchased by Arthur Hopwood (hardware merchant) and rented to a variety of tenants for both residential and commercial use. The old bakehouse (at the rear of the property) was leased to Reg Bridewell during the 1930s, Jack Irwin during the 1940s and the Kitson Brothers (Reg and Dudley) during the 1950s. Mr Bridewell also rented the house on the corner and sold bread and cakes from the dairy. The wooden buildings were demolished in 1959 when the Hopwood Property Co Ltd erected the present block of shops and flats. [1986]