History of our Building

*Sketch of building, circa 1884. Photo courtesy of Libraries Tasmania*

The building on the corner of 45 Cameron St and 54-56 George Street was designed by celebrated Launceston architect/builder, Peter Mills, and built in 1882 as his residence and business Mills Furniture Warehouse. It was known as Mills Corner.

“Peter Mills was a very successful architect, and he leaves in Launceston many substantial monuments of his good taste. He was the first to deviate from the ancient style of square unornamental brick buildings in Launceston.” (Extract from Daily Telegraph obituary – Wed 9 June 1886, via Trove)

Proposed building plans in 1882

“Town Improvements - The land recently purchased by Mr Peter Mills at the corner of George and Cameron streets, is being made use of by its new owner to some purpose. The excavations for the foundations of what will be, when erected, a commodious and handsome building have been commenced, the labourers having been busy at the work for some days past. Mr Mills intends having erected a three storeyed brick store and dwelling house, with an ornamental cemented front. Large cellars will also be constructed underneath, and altogether the building when finished will be the most imposing and commodious business place in Launceston. The portions of the premises set apart for dwelling purposes are to face on George Street, while the shop will front on both George and Cameron streets. The ground floor will be chiefly used for the store. The building will be constructed in the Italian style, and the ornamental portion promises to be exceedingly attractive. Three niches are to be placed at intervals between the windows, each of which will contain a design in statuary. Mr Mills is erecting these premises for his own business, and when completed they will form undoubtedly a leading feature in our recent town improvements.” (Launceston Examiner, Wed 31 May 1882, via Trove)

Machine Made Bricks – first of its kind in Launceston

“We yesterday inspected a building in course of erection at Mr P Mills's new premises at the corner of George and Cameron streets, which is being constructed of bricks made at Deloraine by the machine lately imported by Mr. A. Burnie of that place. The walls present a very different and more finished appearance to those built of the ordinary hand-made article, the bricks being much larger, more compact, and very uniform. We understand this is the first lot of bricks of the kind ever used in Launceston.” (Launceston Examiner, Fri 6 Oct 1882, via Trove)

Roman Goddess Statues

A much photographed feature of the building is the statuary contained in the exterior alcoves of the first floor, which represent the three Roman goddesses - Venus, Diana and Fortuna:

George Street side (above Amelia Coffee Co) – Venus, Roman goddess of love and beauty.
Corner of building (above Simmons Wolfhagen) – Diana, Roman goddess of hunting and nature, featured with her dog.
Cameron Street side (above Branch Office) – Fortuna, Roman goddess of fortune and luck.

G.H. Stancombe, a local historian thought it likely that the statues were fashioned by stonemason Silvanus Wilmot.

The Examiner newspaper in 1883 gave a slightly different interpretation for the statues, naming them “Diana the huntress”, “Innocence” and “Comedy”. While the Venus statue could also be interpreted as Innocence, the Fortuna statue is holding a rolling stone/ball of fortune and a cornucopia of plenty, the symbols which are usually associated with Fortuna, rather than the comedy mask normally associated with the muse Comedy.

“Town Improvements - Mr Peter Mills, architect, led the way towards an improved style of architecture in Launceston at a time when but little taste was displayed in this direction, and each new building erected by him usually shows some departure from the beaten track. The latest idea may be seen at his new business premises at the corner of George and Cameron streets, where over the main entrance and in each of the street frontages statues modelled from well-known originals have been placed in niches designed for them in the original plan of the building. The statues represent respectively “Diana, the huntress”, "Innocence" and “Comedy"; and though this style of ornamentation is common enough in larger communities, it is a pleasing novelty in Launceston.” (Launceston Examiner, Thurs 20 September 1883, via Trove)

Building occupants and changes over the years

1882 – Built by Peter Mills for his residence (levels 1 and 2) and Mills Furniture Warehouse (ground floor)

1886 – Peter Mills passed away

1887 – Building put up for sale but withdrawn at £4,000

1889 – Mills Brothers Warehouse connected to the Telephone Exchange – allotted no. 171

1894 – Estate of Mills Brothers - stock and furniture put up for auction

1894 – Estate of Mills Brothers - 3 storey warehouses and attached dwelling put up for auction

1895 – Mentions of Captain S Tulloch “lending” Mills Corner to Holy Trinity Church for cake fairs

1896 – A.J. Ridge Furniture

1903 – Peter Anderson occupied the workshop in the lane, made and sold furniture from George Street for 30 years, then from Paterson Street until 1950

1915 – The cellar used by a wine and spirit business, either by an uncle of Peter Mills (according to a family relative) or by the wine and spirit merchant WC Oldham (according to G.H. Stancombe, local historian). WC Oldham already had a wine and spirit business in the building he occupied on the opposite corner at 37 George Street, which he purchased when it came up for auction in 1908. This building has W C Oldham 1909 on it, and is now occupied by Senator Peter Whish-Wilson.

1916 – 1932 Globe Furnishing Company (opening sale held in May 1916 when the business moved to cnr George & Cameron Sts)

1922 – William Coogan, rented from Thelma Scott (according to local historian G.H. Stancombe). Thelma Scott, also known as Armstrong from her marriage to Major Duncan Heaton-Armstrong, lived away in Czechoslovakia, Austria and England. She was the youngest daughter of Robert Steele Scott of Dunedin, St Leonards who had mercantile and pastoral pursuits in Launceston.

1932 – Cox Brothers (Note – an obituary in the Examiner on 10 June 1942 for Mrs Mary Ann Tattersall, one of Launceston’s oldest residents at the time, stated that “… she was able to recall the corner of Cameron and George Streets, now occupied by Cox Bros, when it was a quarantine for pigs..”!)

1959 – Building sold by Cox Brothers

1964 – Renovation plans approved - T. Wazny (54-56 George St) – shop fronts tiled over, awning extensions

1968 – Plans approved for stairwell in Cameron Street – T Wazny

1969 – Commonwealth Taxation Office, Ground Floor

1970 – Agricultural Department

1973 – Office of Deputy Prime Minister – Lance Barnard

1998 – Building entered on the Tasmanian Heritage Register by Ashby Holdings. Description in the register – This three storey brick rendered Victorian Italianate commercial retail building has mouldings and arched windows with detailing. There are three statues set into niches on the first floor level. It has historic heritage significance as the only Victorian commercial building in Launceston with statues set into niches and is a good example of a Victorian Italianate style commercial building. This site is of heritage significance because its townscape associations are regarded as important to the community’s sense of place. Integrity – externally predominantly intact. Originally the building had an ornate skirt verandah sheltering the ground floor.

1999 – The Branch Office business centre (moved from Tamar Street)

2002 – Purchased by MJ & SE Steele (Tenants at the time: Ground Floor - Branch Office, Armstrongs Insurance; First Floor - Impact Fertilisers, Tasmanian Light Manufacturing Industry; Second Floor - Mancala Engineering)

2002 – Development of serviced offices on first floor (accessed by a re-discovered timber staircase made of New Zealand Kauri pine, fondly remembered by many earlier users)

2003 – Renovations to second floor to create Peter Mills Apartments

2015 - MJ & SE Steele strata titled the building, with 2 apartment lots created on the top floor and commercial lots created on the first and ground floors. Over the course of the next few years they sold all titles, ending their almost 20 years association with the building, with new owners now sharing the benefits of this great building.

2021 - Demolition works on the ground floor uncovered signage painted on the walls and original ceilings. After Cox Brothers sold the building in 1959 and moved to Brisbane/St John St corner (Myer building), it is believed there was a delicatessen in this space in the 1960s run by a Mr Wazny, who came to Tasmania from Poland after the 2nd World War to work on the Hydro scheme

2023 - Current occupants include: Ground Floor - Branch Office, Amelia Coffee Co; Ground and First Floor – Simmons Wolfhagen, Intend Financial; Second Floor – Peter Mills Apartments

Other notable buildings in Launceston designed/built by Peter Mills

1864 - Launceston Town Hall*

*While often attributed to Peter Mills, it was discovered in 2014 that the Town Hall may have actually been designed by Henry Edwin Bridges, under the false name Horace Bennett, and that Peter Mills only came on board once the drawings were complete:

A Launceston architectural historian has unearthed a secret about one of Launceston's most treasured buildings - that it was designed by a thieving bigamist con man, and not the highly respected architect that has long been credited with its design. Retired university architecture lecturer Anne Neale recently found that the treasured Launceston Town Hall was designed by Henry Edwin Bridges, under the false name Horace Bennett, and not esteemed architect Peter Mills. Dr Neale said there seemed to be good reason for the true architect's identity to be hidden for such a long time. She said Bridges had spent a life concocting scams, skipping across towns and states to escape debts - and even his wife and children. Dr Neale said Bridges came to Australia from England after being charged with being "a rogue and vagabond", in relation to a real estate lottery scam. She said when he arrived in Tasmania in 1858, he established a gold-mining scam in Hobart, and the Hobart Polytechnic Bazaar, a place used by prostitutes to meet clients, and described as "the hell of Hobart". Dr Neale said he moved to Launceston a year later and started a bigamous marriage. She said town surveyor George Babington commissioned Bridges, then known as Horace Bennett, to design the Town Hall for a fee of seven pounds. Dr Neale said Mills had once denied he was the Town Hall's architect in one article printed in The Examiner in 1867 which discussed the building's design flaws. (The Examiner, 15 April 2014)

1865 - Cornwall Insurance Office in St John St (demolished)

1870 - Struan House, Cameron Street (Supreme Court building)

1873 - Commercial Bank Building at 23 Paterson St (Tas Trustees)

1873 - Fawns Block – 3 shops (Melbourne House), cnr Brisbane and George Streets (Polly Shoes corner)

1874 - Peter’s former residence at 59 Brisbane Street, which later housed the Launceston Club from 1882-1925 (currently occupied by Swirlz lolly shop on the ground floor)

1876 - Boston Ironmongery Warehouse, cnr Brisbane and St John Streets. Was also Ludbrooks Corner, and later housed the Bank of NSW and Westpac branches (currently Wendys Ice Cream corner)

1877 - Savings Bank in Paterson Street (demolished)

1877 - Oddfellows Hall building at 95 St John Street (currently occupied by Tai-Chi Chinese Massage and Possum & Friends)

1880 – Ritchie & Parker Lawyers at 81 St John Street (right hand corner of Cotton On building)

Peter also designed many family residences throughout Launceston and other areas.