One of the nearby streets is named Redarc Street which I always thought was an unusual name but gave little thought to its origin or meaning. Some streets are obviously named after people or families but this is not the case for Redarc Street. Recently it became clear what it referred to and it linked perfectly with my previous blog about Mr Wilkins and his house called 'Irvinebank' - see Exploring My Suburb (1). The photo below was taken with an iPhone early one evening with just a hint of light still in the sky and railway people will see the signals in the background on the railway line which runs parallel to Mildmay Street. But I digress - Redarc Street links to Mr Wilkins and his stores which were located throughout Queensland and also in Newcastle. Redarc is a contraction of Red Arcade which was the name of Mr Wilkins stores not an actual arcade. Red Arcade stores were located in Queen Street Brisbane near the Post Office, in Ipswich in Nicholas Street, as well as in Townsville, Toowoomba, Maryborough and Mackay.
Red Arcade stores sold various household goods as well as lamps, tools, toys, books, stationery and basketware, and Wilkins was an importer of china, fireworks, glass and earthenware fancy goods. The Queen Street store is said to have had 'a novel cash tramway...worked by electric motor carrying documents for scrutiny or change to customers.' The store also had large realistic animals that made noises. The Ipswich store opened on the 1st of December 1894, the Brisbane store opened around 1891 and Mr Wilkins original business, a stationary store, opened in 1874. So suburban Redarc Street refers to the Red Arcade stores owned by Mr Wilkins (1836 to 1905) who arrived in Queensland in 1861 from Victoria and settled in Fairfield in 1892.
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AuthorI love to understand things, how they work, why they happen - I'm always learning and keen to investigate... Archives
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