26 August 2024
What a massive sheer cliff of a building ! This is the giant Craig Williamson’s department store that once stood at the bottom of Flinders Street as it was during the Queens visit in 1954 (pic National Trust). It was demolished in 1968, and I’ve just worked out its history; I thought it was just a continuously enlarged version of the earlier store, but I was wrong. It started out as a four storey building plus a range of smaller ones in 1883 (pic 2), then a tall 7 storey block replaced two of them in 1890; but it didn’t last long as the whole place was gutted by the Great Fire of 1897, which actually started here, and burnt out much of the block. I had thought they kept the facade and rebuilt bigger, but turns out they started again, using the same architect as in 1890, F Williams, who rather oddly sort of repeated the design but wider, and plainer, and making it look like a series of buildings. Business was good, and they made it even longer and added two floors in 1913 making the behemoth of the first pic. They were bought out and closed in 1937, the site bought by the Commonwealth Bank in 1945, who demolished it eventually for an office tower. So there you go. All other pics @library_vic; 1883, 1890, 1897, c1900, 1913, 1950s, now.
Storey of Melbourne 
This is all fascinating…I have only recently read all this and seen these photos…My great uncle was W.E.J.Craig. His brother, my father’s father (my grandfather), Alfred Thomas Craig, won the Melbourne Cup in 1923…(101 years ago!) with his horse Bitalli. So I have a rather fascinating history.
My father, William Charles Craig, born in 1901, spent his early years living with his family in the original old house that is part of Presbyterian Ladies College (PLC) today. It is called ‘Hethersett.’
WEJ Craig lived in a beautiful old Victorian House in Canterbury Road, Canterbury, which after his death was ‘given’ to the Presbyterian Church. His widow wanted to return to live in Ireland, so gave it away, thinking that if it went to Auction the Catholics would buy it!!! It became the Presbyterian Babies Home for many years. It is still standing today.
Regards, Tina Buchanan
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So your grandfather was not involved in the store ? Which must have been a huge thing to run !
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Hi…no, to my knowledge, my grandfather was not involved
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Hi Tina Is there any history book on Craig Williamson’s business? My grandfather worked there umtil it closed. John Algar john.algar2@bigpond.com
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