Mrs Hickey's General Store

One of the earliest photographs the library has in its collection is this one taken in 1871 of Mrs Hickey's general store. The building was built of weatherboard with a shingled roof. The rear annex was of brick and rough stone set in a mortar matrix, probably of sand and lime with or without cement. In the shop window you can see various bottles, vases and jars. Other items that Mrs Hickey sold included cutlery, pottery, garden tools, farm products, linen, clothing, pots and pans, lamps and lanterns.

If you look closely at the photograph you can see the absence of guttering. Rain drops from the roof created shallow trenches along the frontage to the verandah and from all accounts meant mud was everywhere in wet weather. A foot scraper would've been essential!

Also note the cat sunning itself on the road. A reminder of the placid life of that time so long ago.

Mrs Hickey's quaint little shop was situated 50 metres south of the Queen Street and Bradbury Avenue intersection on the western side of Queen Street. This places it in the vicinity of where the car wash is located.

Source:

"Buildings of Yore in Campbelltown" by Eddie McBarron
In Grist Mills  Vol.3, No.3, July 1986

Written by Andrew Allen