Hunter's Emporium facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hunter's Emporium |
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Hunter's Emporium, 2010
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| Location | 86 McDowell Street, Roma, Maranoa Region, Queensland, Australia |
| Design period | 1914 - 1919 (World War I) |
| Built | 1916 |
| Built for | John McEwan Hunter |
| Architect | John Hill |
| Official name: Hunter's Emporium (former) | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 30 October 2008 |
| Reference no. | 601775 |
| Significant period | 1910s |
| Builders | John Hill |
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Hunter's Emporium is a special old building in Roma, Australia. It used to be a big department store. A department store is like a large shop that sells many different things. This building was designed and built in 1916 by a local builder named John Hill.
Today, it's listed on the Queensland Heritage Register. This means it's an important historical place that needs to be protected. It shows us what shops were like a long time ago.
Contents
The Story of Hunter's Emporium
Hunter's Emporium was built in 1916. It was a large brick building right in the middle of Roma. It stood at a main street corner, which was perfect for a big shop. This store was the most important one in a group of shops owned by John McEwan Hunter.
How Roma Grew
The town of Roma started in 1862. It was a place where people could get supplies and where the government had offices. It helped the farms and ranches in the Maranoa area.
In the 1880s, a railway line reached Roma. This connected the western parts of Queensland to the coast. Also, people found a lot of underground water in the late 1880s. This water helped the region grow a lot. By the early 1900s, Roma was a busy town. It served a rich farming area. People raised sheep and cattle, grew wheat, fruit, and made wine.
John McEwan Hunter's Business Journey
In 1889, a young man from Scotland named John McEwan Hunter started managing a store in Roma. It was a general store that sold clothes and other goods. He later bought the business with a partner. They called their shop Hunter and Harding.
A few years later, Hunter became the sole owner. His business then became Hunter & Co. He was very successful and opened more stores. These branch stores were in towns like Yeulba, Mitchell, Wallumbilla, Jackson, Miles, and Chinchilla. By 1930, his company was called Hunter's Ltd.
The Fire and Rebuilding
In 1916, a big fire happened in Roma. It destroyed Hunter & Co.'s store, a tailor shop, and a hotel next door. The fire started at the back of Hunter's store. Everything inside the store was lost.
John Hunter decided to rebuild. He built a new, even bigger store and a new hotel. He swapped their places. The new Hunter's Emporium was built right on the main corner. The new hotel was next to it.
Building the New Emporium
Work on the new store began in August 1916 and finished in December that year. It was a grand, two-storey brick building. John Hill, a local builder, designed and built it. The outside walls were made of beautiful red bricks. They had special patterns around the doors and windows.
The ground floor had awnings to shade people from the sun. There were also three special display windows to show off goods. Inside, the store had electric lights and a system to send cash around. It was a very modern shop, just like big stores in cities.
Local workers and materials were used for the building. A local furniture maker, John Crawford, made all the wooden shelves, counters, and display cases.
What Was Sold Inside
The ground floor of Hunter's Emporium sold clothes, groceries, and hardware. The first floor had furniture and a large storage area. The store sold everything people in the area needed. They advertised "General Drapery, Clothing, Boots and Shoes, Linos, Carpets, Furnishings, Grocery, Crockery, Ironmongery and Produce." This showed how much faith John Hunter had in Roma and the surrounding area.
John McEwan Hunter's Public Life
John McEwan Hunter was not just a successful businessman. He was also very active in his community and in Queensland politics. He was a local council member in Roma in 1898 and 1899. He even became the Mayor of Roma in 1900.
He helped start the Roma Co-operative Milling Co. Ltd. This company built a flour mill in 1900. He was also the president of a farming and animal show in Roma. He helped create the Queensland Traders' Association, a big wholesale group in Brisbane. He was its chairman from the very beginning.
In 1907, John Hunter was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly. This is like being a member of the state parliament. He represented the Maranoa area until 1919. He was part of the Australian Labor Party. He even served as a government minister, looking after public lands from 1915 to 1918. Later, he became the Queensland Agent-General in London until 1922. This was a very important job, representing Queensland in the United Kingdom.
Hunter's Legacy
John Hunter passed away in 1940. His daughter, Helen Roma Jean, and her husband took over Hunter's Ltd. The company continued to be one of the main shops in western Queensland for many years.
In the 1950s, some of the smaller Hunter's stores had to close or be sold. This happened because a main road, the Warrego Highway, was sealed. People could now travel further to bigger towns. The main Roma store was sold in 1977. It closed its doors in early 2008.
What Hunter's Emporium Looks Like Today
The former Hunter's Emporium is a two-storey brick building. It has two main sides that face McDowall and Arthur streets. There's also a smaller, single-storey brick building at the back. The top of the building has a decorative wall called a parapet. It has fancy scrollwork and round decorations on top.
The outside walls are made of red bricks with darker brick patterns. These patterns also frame the doors and windows. A wide roof sticks out over the footpath on McDowall Street and part of Arthur Street. This provides shade. The original display windows on McDowall Street are still there, but the glass has been changed. The shop windows on Arthur Street are more modern.
The first-floor windows have small wooden roofs above them. These are supported by decorative wooden brackets. The ceilings under these roofs are covered with decorative pressed metal.
The small building at the back used to be an office and showroom. It has a high roof with a large window on top to let in light. There's also a loading area at the back for deliveries.
Inside the ground floor, you can still see the old wooden columns that support the ceiling. The ceiling itself is covered with decorative pressed metal. The walls are painted plaster.
There are two staircases to the upper floor. The main one has a nice wooden handrail and carved balusters. Many of the original wooden display cases and the cash railway system have been removed from the ground floor.
Why Hunter's Emporium is Important
Hunter's Emporium was added to the Queensland Heritage Register in 2008. It's important for several reasons:
- It shows Queensland's history: The building shows how Roma grew into a big regional town in the early 1900s. It also shows the good design and building skills available in Roma back then. As the main store for Hunter & Co., it shows how general shops grew in regional Queensland.
- It's a rare building: This building is one of the few large, old brick department stores still standing in regional Queensland. It's a special example of how these big shops used to look.
- It shows what a department store was like: Its size and how well it's kept show what a large regional department store in the early 1900s was like. It had a great location, was strongly built, and had fancy details. It also had good natural light and a loading area at the back.
- It's beautiful: The building is in a very noticeable spot in Roma's main street. Its shape, size, and details add to the historical feel of the area and the look of the town.
- It's linked to an important person: Hunter's Emporium is strongly connected to John McEwan Hunter. He was a very successful businessman from Roma. He was also a local and state politician and even represented Queensland in London. This large store was the main building for his chain of shops.
