department

Fortitude Valley Developed to the north-east of Brisbane city, the Valley began life as a separate European settlement. Easily accessible by tram by the 1890s, the Valley, which was not flood-prone, had the largest department stores. These did not survive the rise of the car-based shopping centres, whereas the city proper managed to retain some of its department stores. The Valley experienced an urban renaissance in the 1980s and 1990s, when young people flocked to new night clubs, some in place of the brothels and illegal gambling joints of an earlier era. The first known evidence of civic life was the opening of a church house at the corner of Ann and Ballow Streets in 1856-57. By the early 1860s there were a Primitive Methodist church, a primary school (1861), a free reading room and a locally-supported Alderman on the Brisbane town council. Alderman Warren soon organised a petition for municipal separation which, although refused, led to the creation of a separate Valley Ward (1864). The Valley, as it was becoming known, achieved a measure of commercial importance in 1864 when Thomas Finney bought a drapery business in Ann Street, the beginning of the Finney, Isles and Co department store (later in Queen Street, where David Jones took over the firm). Trams offered the main means of access to the Valley. Horse-drawn services from North Quay to the Exhibition grounds and to Breakfast Creek Road were opened in 1885. Fortitude Valley's rising commercial importance was best signified by the Renaissance style post office built in Ann Street in 1887. Thomas Finney's drapery store had grown and several significant retail establishments congregated around Brunswick and Wickham Streets: Overells in Ann Street (1883), which moved to Brunswick Street in 1899; T.C. Beirne in Brunswick Street (1891); and McWhirter's at the corner of Brunswick and Wickham Streets (1898), crowning the site with a new art deco building in 1930. Completing the group was Foy and Gibsons in Wickham Street (1903). All became department stores. The new shopping area was above the 1890 flood level, in contrast to central and South Brisbane. Source: queenslandplaces.com.au/fortitude-valley

T.C. Beirne & Co. has a proud history of contribution both culturally and economically to Brisbane. Beirne’s as it was often referred to, held a position of prominence as a retailer of choice for decades during the early 1900’s to the 1960’s. T.C. Beirne (known as ‘T.C. Beirnes’ or just ‘Beirnes’) was a long-running department store that stablished Fortitude Valley as the place to shop for fashion in Brisbane. They catered to the middle of the market, offering a comprehensive range of women’s, men’s, and children’s clothing and footwear, as well as fabric, haberdashery, and other household goods. The early success and growth of Thomas Beirne’s drapery business demonstrates the opportunities Queensland held for immigrant fashion retailers Beirne’s retained its independence until David Jones bought it out in 1961. The Valley store continued to trade as T. C. Beirne until being rebadged as David Jones in 1966. The Fortitude Valley store was closed in 1973, in a widespread move by David Jones to cut costs. Thomas Charles Beirne (1860–1949), an Irishman, was the founder and director of the T.C. Beirne department stores, remaining active in the business right up until his death. What started as a modest drapery business made him one of Queensland’s most successful businessmen, and among the first Australian millionaires. Source: tcbandco.com.au/history/

Man wearing a suit and his woman in a casual elegant dress.

Meet James Stewart, our pioneering ancestor and muse. James and Alexander Stewart – lovers of adventure and the finer things in life – were the sons of a Scottish haberdasher. Their enterprising spirit brought them to Australia to open a draper’s store on Brisbane’s Queen Street in 1860. Later it would become one of the country’s first department stores. James (known as ‘Jimmy’) went on to open several more stores, including James Stewart & Co. in Rockhampton, which remains operating today. James Stewart & Co. was the first Queensland store to import international finery, such as hand-spun silks from Japan, hand-crafted knits from Scotland, bentwood furniture such as Thonet from Austria and glassware from Sweden. Jimmy’s sharp eye for design trends – combined with an innate ability to curate and source goods – kept him well ahead of his competitors until his death in 1923. The business continued to flourish and he realised his vision to construct a flagship store in 1926. With its café, fashion shows and couture garments direct from the fashion houses of Europe, it was revolutionary. The business expanded into furniture and fashion manufacturing in the early twentieth century. With 150 years of history, James Stewart & Co. remains Australia’s longest surviving family-owned department store. The James Stewart Furniture Collection draws inspiration from this visionary great, great uncle, evoking his sense of charm and employing his eye for detail. Source: www.jamesstewartfurniture.com.au/blog/2018/1/31/james-ste...