McWhirter's Motor Garage (former)

The drapery firm of James McWhirter and Son Ltd was founded in 1898. Business commenced in a shop fronting Brunswick Street. The drapery business boomed and McWhirter purchased adjoining land in Warner Street. He then extended his shop to a depth of 260 feet from Brunswick to Warner Streets. The firm later acquired land on the corner of Warner Street and a block of buildings in Wickham Street at a cost of £8,000/-/-. The company’s land in Fortitude Valley now extended 105 feet along Brunswick Street with a depth of 126 feet to Warner Street.

A five storey brick building was constructed on the corner of Wickham and Warner Streets in 1912 to the designs of architects, H.W. Atkinson and Charles McLay. A second four storey building, fronting Brunswick Street was completed in 1923. The third part of the vast McWhirters Emporium, the building on the Wickham and Brunswick Street corner, joined the two existing buildings. The distinctive building was designed by prominent architects Hall and Phillips and built by G.A. Stronach in 1930-31. This five storey addition provided another 250,000 square feet (a little more than two hectares) of floor space at a cost of £130,000/-/-.

McWhirters flourished as a family department store, its many customers attracted by a high quality of goods, variety of merchandise and moderate prices. The store’s shop windows, especially at Christmas, became a community focal point. James McWhirters sharp business acumen enabled him to expand his business beyond Fortitude Valley to branches throughout Queensland.

McWhirters was one of the three largest Valley retailers along with TC Beirne’s and Overells. All three were family owned businesses. Following the disastrous 1890s floods which drove south side retailers to the north side, the Valley became the shopping hub for greater Brisbane rivalled only by the city centre itself. This trend continued well into the first half of the twentieth century: in 1949 the turnover of Valley residents was estimated at £15 million each year, of which McWhirters, TC Beirne’s and Overells accounted for more than £5 million.

1. Queensland Certificates of Title

2. Queensland Post Office Directories

3. E.J.T. Barton (ed), Jubilee History of Queensland, Brisbane, H.J. Diddams & Co, 1910, p. 309

4. Brisbane Centenary Official Historical Souvenir, 1924, p. 270