store

MESSRS. ALEXANDER AND MUNRO. The business establishment par excellence of Toowoomba is that of Messrs. Alexander and Munro, whose large operations are conducted in the most elegant premises on the Darling Downs—in point of fact, the beat appointed and largest soft goods stores in any provincial town in the colony. The building is two stories In height, with a frontage of 114 ft. to Ruthven-street, the central thoroughfare of Toowoomba, and with a depth of 125 ft. The proprietors believe in an abundance of light and air, and they have carried their idea into practical effect, special provision having been made for this in the construction of the premises. Handsome plate-glass fronts run the whole length of the building, and the interior of the store is brilliantly lit. The upstairs portion of establishment 1b is also replete with every convenience for the sections located in this part of the establishment. The departments are many and varied, and each is in charge of an expert. They comprise drapery, millinery. Manchester goods, dressmaking, tailoring, clothing, mantles, boots, glassware, crockery, floorcloths, linoleums, furnishings, fancy goods, hollowware. It is therefore abundantly evident that Messrs. Alexander and Munro are in a position to supply the modest wants of the farmer, or the more pretentious requirements of the householder and to a man of unlimited means. The business conducted by this firm covers a great extent of the country—not only the Darling Downs district, of which Toowoomba is the chief commercial center, but away out among the cattle runs of the distant North and the sheep stations of the remote West; indeed, it Is a well-known fact that no retail house in Southern Queensland can boast of more extensive ramifications. Businessmen from all parts of the world who have visited Toowoomba have found their way into Messrs. Alexander and Munro's extensive repository and expressed their astonishment at seeing everything so complete. The cash railway, for instance, is fitted up all through the establishment, and the comfort of the employees, coupled with the rapid and economical despatch of business,- has received the best consideration. 'As a thoroughly complete -emporium, Messrs. Alexander and Munro's establishment Is certainly on \ par with the best-known houses of the metropolis, while they have the reputation of selling at prices such as many of the leading city houses even can not touch. The business was started in a small way in 1871, and some years after Mr. Alexander retired, and Mr. Munro took the burden of affairs on his own shoulders. He steadily forged ahead and kept pace with all the modern methods that competition had compelled commercial men to adopt. A big staff of assistants is of course employed, and Messrs. Alexander and Munro are now doing one of the largest businesses outside Brisbane. Mr. Munro, the managing partner, is a Scotchman, a shrewd, far-seeing businessman, and a very hard worker. He stands high in the estimation of his fellow townsmen and has on several occasions been asked to allow himself to be nominated for public honors, but his business is too exacting to allow him to do so just yet. Source: "The Queenslander" 20Nov. 1897 trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/24471944

M.D. Pigott set up a drapery business in Brisbane soon after arriving in Australia in 1885. He opened his first store in Russell Street, Toowoomba (next to the Criterion Hotel) on 6 July 1896. Pigott & Co advertised that at their opening there would be the 'most marvellous bargains ever offered in Toowoomba.' Just a year after opening Pigott & Co moved into specially remodelled premises in Ruthven Street on 24 August 1897. M.D. Pigott, his wife Mary Josephine and eight children moved from Brisbane to Toowoomba following the success of the store. During the later years of the 1890s and into the early years of the twentieth century, branch stores were opened at Boonah, Beaudesert, Chinchilla, Pittsworth, Dalby and Warwick. Tragedy strikes in 1909 In 1908 the store was completely remodelled including vestibule windows. Tragedy struck Pigott & Co when fire broke out on 8 July 1909 only a month after the renovations were complete. The building and stock were completely destroyed. To continue the running of the popular store a temporary building and offices were arranged the very next day. Warehouses rallied to supply goods and after a couple of weeks, business had increased and the temporary premises had to be extended. On 18 April 1910, the new Pigott & Co store opened with twice the floor space, enlarged departments and new departments added. Source: www.tr.qld.gov.au/our-region/history/historic-locations/1...

Huge space, great assortment.