Pollard's Store, Heritage department store in Charters Towers, Australia
Pollard's Store is a two-story red brick building with octagonal towers and Federation-style architecture from the early 1900s. Inside, stained glass windows and pressed metal ceilings add detail to the spaces where goods were once sold and displayed.
The building was constructed around 1909 for Daking-Smith and Company during a time when gold mining brought prosperity to the region. It served a thriving community that relied on mining wealth to support local commerce.
The store transformed from a simple fabric merchant into a full department store, showing how local shopping changed over time. This shift reflects how a regional community adapted its retail options to suit growing needs.
The building is located on Gill Street and blends its historic character with modern use today. Visitors can walk by and appreciate the architectural details even though the space now serves a different purpose than retail.
A mechanical cash carrier system operated inside this building until 1993, moving money and receipts through tubes between floors. This ingenious system made transactions faster and safer when the store was at its busiest.
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