toowoomba

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...

Wow ! I like this shot.....!

www.bernays.com.au/ Established 1898, in Toowoomba. Bernays Lawyers

Rumors of a ghost at Ascot House in Queensland, Australia, have been circulating as far back as the 1890s. It wasn’t until some one hundred years later, that the ghost could finally be put to rest. Ascot House was built for wealthy businessman and politician, Frederick Holberton, in 1876, and was originally named ‘Tor’. Situated in Newtown, a suburb of Toowoomba, it once stood on 13ha (32 acres) of land. It eventually changed hands, and the new owner renamed it Ascot House and undertook numerous renovations. Ascot House contained a gothic tower, sweeping staircase, and large high-ceilinged rooms. Many years later, the house would fall into a state of disrepair. During the 1940s, flats had been added, which housed people looking for cheap accommodation. It was not until the 1980s that the house was sold to a successful renovator, who proceeded to bring the house back to its former glory. No sooner had the new owner moved into Ascot House, that she would hear footsteps walking down the hallway at night but see no-one. Once, during the early hours of the morning, she felt fingertips brush her shoulders. One warm evening, she leaned against a wall where the surface was icy cold. The cold patch lasted for months and defied explanation. There have been numerous eye-witness accounts, including one man who saw the apparition of a young woman that looked as if her neck was broken. It had been rumored that a young servant girl had hung herself within the house. After many years of searching, the owner identified the young woman as Maggie Hume, who had worked at Ascot House as a housemaid under the employ of the original owner, Frederick Holberton. At 23 years of age, she committed suicide, not by hanging, but by taking strychnine. According to the police reports, it was believed she suicided after learning she was pregnant. At the inquest, a couple of male staff members confessed to having ‘connections’ with her. As a single woman committing suicide, Maggie was buried in an unmarked grave. Now, a headstone has been placed at the site, giving her the sympathy she never received in life. Source: debbie-johansson.com/2021/09/29/the-ghost-of-ascot-house/