Old Butcher's Shop, Childers facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Old Butcher's shop, Childers |
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Old Butcher's Shop, 2008
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| Location | 6 North Street, Childers, Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia |
| Design period | 1870s - 1890s (late 19th century) |
| Built | c. 1896 - c. 1902 |
| Official name: The Old Butcher's shop complex, HR Lassig butchers, Leatherarts, Wrench and Thompson butchers | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 21 October 1992 |
| Reference no. | 600631 |
| Significant period | 1890s, 1900s (fabric) c. 1896-1960s (historical use as a butchers). |
| Significant components | furniture/fittings, residential accommodation - housing, shop/s |
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The Old Butcher's Shop is a special building in Childers, Australia. It used to be a butcher shop, where people bought meat. It was built around 1896 to 1902. This building is important because of its history and how it looks. It is now listed on the Queensland Heritage Register, which means it's protected for future generations to see.
Contents
A Look Back at Childers
The Old Butcher's Shop is found just off the main street of Childers. It's close to the Federal Hotel. The whole area includes the old brick butcher's shop, a timber shop next to it, and a house at the back. For many years, this place served the people of Childers as a butcher's shop.
Childers started to grow in the 1880s. This happened after a lot of trees were cut down in the area. People from Maryborough wanted to make Childers an agricultural area. In 1882, the land around Childers was divided into farm blocks.
The Railway Arrives
The railway came to Childers on October 31, 1887. This was a big deal! It helped transport timber from the forests. The railway also helped start the sugar industry in the area. Soon, sugar mills were built, and Childers became a busy center for growing sugar cane.
The Shop's Early Days
The land where the butcher shop stands was first divided into town lots in 1892. A hotel owner named William Ashby bought some of these lots. The date "1896" is on the front of the Old Butcher's Shop. This might mean a butcher shop started here then. Or it could be when the first owner started their business. The building might have been built after a big fire in 1902. Many timber buildings in Childers were destroyed, and new brick ones were built.
Who Owned the Butcher Shop?
In 1905, Eliza Wrench bought the property. Her husband, Robert Wrench, managed the Childers Cash Butchery. A photo from 1907 shows the shop was called "Wrench and Thompson." Robert Wrench had been a butcher in Childers since 1896. He later became an insurance agent.
In 1911, Hermann Lassig, who was also a butcher, bought the shop. He simply changed the sign to his name. The front of the shop used to be open. We don't know exactly when the closed, tiled shopfront was added.
Over the years, many different people owned and ran the butcher shop:
- In 1915, Daniel and Peter O'Regan bought it. Daniel had been a butcher since 1900.
- In 1921, a group of partners bought it and kept it as a butchery.
- In 1928, Alexander Adie bought it. He owned five butcher shops!
- After Adie died in 1940, it became Stehbens Bros butchers.
- Then it was Frank Slack, Butcher.
- Finally, Kings Meats Pty Ltd took over in 1962.
Mr. King was the last butcher to work there. The shop was used as a butcher's for over 60 years!
Later Uses
After being a butcher shop, the building was empty for a while. In 1976, Leonard and Cheryl Derley bought it. They used it for a business selling leather goods and pottery. They also had some government offices there. In 1988, Anita Campden-Main bought the shop. She opened it as a museum and a place for tourists to visit. The property was sold again in 1996.
What the Shop Looks Like
The Old Butcher's Shop complex is on North Street, not far from Churchill Street. It has a brick butcher's shop, a timber shop next to it, and a house behind them.
The Main Butcher's Shop
The main shop is made of brick. It's a long building with a pointed roof covered in corrugated iron. The front of the roof is hidden by a decorative wall called a parapet. This parapet has a raised part in the middle with an arched top. This style is similar to other shops in Churchill Street.
The shopfront is divided into two sections. It has large display windows and two doors. An awning (a roof-like cover) shades the front, held up by two pairs of posts. The bottom part of the shopfront is covered in glossy moss-green tiles. There are also special tiles with patterns in red and green. On each side of the shop front, there are white tiles with pictures of a bull and a ram painted in blue.
Other Buildings
Next to the main shop is a simple timber building. You can see its wooden frame on the outside. It also has a corrugated iron roof and an awning over the street. Behind these shops is a timber house. Inside the butcher's shop, you can still see some of the original equipment and furniture from when it was a butcher's.
Why It's a Heritage Site
The Old Butcher's Shop was added to the Queensland Heritage Register in 1992. This means it's considered very important.
- Shows Queensland's History: This shop is a great example of how towns in Queensland changed. Simple timber buildings were replaced by stronger, more fancy brick ones as towns grew richer. The timber shop next to it shows the difference between the old and new styles. Building with brick became popular after big fires in the early 1900s. These fires often happened because timber buildings were too close together and there wasn't enough water to put out fires.
- Helps Us Learn: The shop still has much of its original equipment. This can teach us a lot about how butchers prepared meat long ago. We can learn about the machines they used, like sausage makers and mincers.
- A Great Example: The Old Butcher's Shop is a really good and complete example of what a butcher's shop from that time looked like.
- Looks Good: The shops, especially the brick butcher's shop, add a lot to the look and feel of Childers' streets.
