127 WELLINGTON STREET

 127 Wellington Street has never drawn my attention before, although I must have driven past it thousands of times. It was only when I walked by, for the first time, that I noticed some rather attractive “doodaderry” (as pictured) and decided to find out more.

This little building, which today houses an interior design business, has been on the heritage register of the national estate since 1978. According to the Heritage Database Site, it was constructed in the 1840s as a house, and had a shopfront added at a later date, along with various other modifications.

The first reference I could find in the newspapers (via TROVE) was 1894, when James Thomas, of this address was accused of stealing some chooks and a couple of stringy bark posts from his neighbour. The same year an advertisement was place seeking “a young lady to teach sewing,”but the nineteenth century otherwise remains a bit of a mystery. It is not surprising, as street numbers were not usually given until around 1892.

The property has a number of mentions in twentieth century newspapers, the saddest being a report about little Francis McCullagh who died in 1927 when the woodpile he was playing on, collapsed.

I don't know when the shop was added to the main building, but it existed in 1928 when the premises what known as “ The Leading Butchery.” In 1903, someone from this address advertised for the return of a lost sheep and lamb, so probably it was a butchery then too.

In 1930, two youths responsible for a series of robberies in Launceston, were recaptured at this location, the home of Elizabeth Jordan, after they had escaped from the lock-up. The youth's crime spree is recounted in The Mercury of 25 October The two young men claimed that they were encouraged in their endeavours by Elizabeth.

The building underwent a change of usage when 1937 Walter Gillam opened a home for old men at 127 Wellington Street.

In 1976, the building became the Commercial Traveller's Club. The club closed in 1988.(For more information about the Commercial Traveller's Association see http://www.qvmag.tas.gov.au/upfiles/qvmag/imglib/collections/CHS56%20Commercial%20Travellers'%20Association%20of%20Tasmania%20(CTA).pdf ).

127 Welllington Street has since been occupied by an electrical repair shop, and as mentioned at the beginning, an interior designer.

There are clearly many missing details in this account. A peek in Post Office Directories, phone books and so on would no doubt fill in many of the gaps. I haven't done this as....well.... to be honest, I'm not really that interested (I will no doubt soon find out that I've missed some truly earth-shattering historic event which occurred on the premises because I didn't bother to find out more!). Hopefully the information I have included gives some insight into how a single building can have many uses over time and illustrates that each of Launceston's “less grand” older city buildings can provide an insight into the story of small business that is often overlooked, but which is a vital part of the commercial history of Launceston.