TIMELESS WOLLONGONG

Prior to 1850 George Hewlett had opened a general store in lower Crown Street on the corner of Moore Lane. From 1855 till 1861 he operated a branch of the post office from the premises and from 1854 till 1861 a branch of the E. S & A Bank. It is not known exactly what the building was used for after Hewlett closed his business and moved into the position of manager of the E. S & A Bank on the corner of Crown and Kembla Streets in 1861. Until early 1887 the building was a drapery store run by the Riley Brothers, a Sydney company.

After the Riley Bros the store reopened in March 1887 under the management of Mr Joseph Kops as I.X.L. Cash Drapery Store selling all types of drapery, clothing, fancy goods, dress pieces and cutlery. He advertised extra good value in men's, youths' and boys' wear. The store guaranteed that the customers would save five shillings in the £1 by shopping at I.X.L.

Next to the store was another building owned by George Hewlett where Percy Owen, a well-known solicitor, had at one time operated his legal practice. Later the legal firm became known as Owen and May and in January 1883, after moving to other premises, solicitor Mr B Lipscomb opened his legal practice.

At about 2am on Sunday, September 23 1888, it took just one spark to destroy a significant part of Crown Street's early history. Two local residents on the southern side of Crown Street saw a glow through the covered windows of their bedrooms. When bootmaker James Kirby looked out of his window he saw the whole of the front of the I.X.L. store alight. Duncan Hamilton, a baker residing in Crown Street, also woke and ran out of his home. Kirby and Hamilton roused the sleeping neighbourhood. The first family Mr Kirby woke were the Beatsons. By then Joseph Makin of the Royal Hotel and W Osborne arrived on the scene. Crowds quickly gathered and in no time about 500 people were watching the inferno spread from building to building. Mr Osborne reached Wollongong Fire Station, not too far away, and rose the alarm by vigorously ringing the fire bell. In the meantime the fire completely engulfed the I.X.L premises and in no time the window sashes of the Beatson premises were alight. The Beatson family moved quickly to save their furniture and possessions. When Mr Lipscomb's office was surrounded by flames, fireman Quilty broke through the window, saving valuable legal documents and books from the solicitor's office. In all, the whole of the I.X.L. store and its stock was completely destroyed, although the large safe within the building was still intact, leaving cash inside only scorched. The fire brigade managed to save the Beatson residence although it suffered slight damage. The overall loss of the I.X.L. store was estimated between £5000 and £6000. Mr Kops estimated the loss of his stock at £4500. The building occupied by Mr Lipscomb was insured by the Commercial Union Society for £800.

Many people assisted all through the night and stayed on for Sunday to keep the smouldering embers from flaring up again.

At the inquiry into the fire, Saul Kops, brother of the owner, gave evidence that the store closed just after 10pm on Saturday night. At one stage it was thought that, as the building was overrun with rats, they had found their way into the stock of matches and after biting on them they could have caused a spark which started the blaze. The jury deliberated for 20 minutes and returned a verdict that the fire started within the store by whatever means the evidence failed to show.

Crown Street, Wollongong had some major fires over the years destroying many livelihoods.

In August 1889 the Temperance Hall on the opposite side of Crown Street was totally destroyed and in August 1895 the buildings on the corner of Crown and Keira Streets were reduced to ashes. As all three major blazes occurred during the windy months and it seemed likely that these fires no doubt were fanned by the westerly winds turning them into major blazes.

Information courtesy of Carol Herben OAM.  Call 0409 832 854 or email sycado6@bigpond.net.au