Alexander Pollock was a butcher who operated from a shop in this building for a few years after its construction. He lived on the premises, and cannot have been there for too long when a fire occurred in Harvey's Store, the next-door building, on 23 March 1865. At the inquest into the fire, Pollock testified that he was awoken by a "peculiar noise" and that when he investigated he found the next-door property on fire. It appears that the fire was contained to that building although they were only about 10 feet (3 metres) apart.
Apparently business didn't go all that well for Pollock. In a civil court case in November 1866 he was sued for £433 as restitution for a cattle deal that had gone sour. Pollock lost the case and was bankrupted in 1866/67. He lost this building to the mortgagee in 1868. By this time Alexander Pollock was searching for gold at Gympie and it is reported that he had some success at that endeavour. Pollock St in Gympie is the site of his claim for the "Lady Mary" reef that he registered in late 1867.
Since Pollock's time there have been numerous businesses and tenants of this building. I hope the businesses there today have more success than Alexander Pollock did.
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tff
Enjoying all your shots from Woolloongabba, it has always been a favourite part of Brisbane for me.
ReplyDeleteI am assuming the shops are on the ground floor and the three residential units are on the top storey. The two timber extensions look very refined in their design, but I wonder why they weren't built in brick like the rest of the structure. Which material suits the Brisbane weather conditions best?
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