Pambula Village Milk Bar

Pambula Village Milk Bar, formerly Godfrey's Motors:

The earliest known building to stand on the site now occupied by the Pambula Village Milk Bar was a weatherboard structure with triple gable roof and veranda supported on simple wooden posts which was probably constructed C. 1880-90’s. It was quite comparable in style to McPherson’s Drapery next door. Over the years, occupants included Goldberg Brothers’ Hampden House general store, V. Herman and Co’s general store and Godfrey’s Motors, who were the last to occupy it.

Godfrey brothers had moved into the building by the mid-1920’s and operated not only their motor garage business from the site but also Pambula’s first electricity plant, which commenced in 1927, and was amongst the first on the far south coast. It was reported in September 1927 “Messrs Godfrey

The building previously occupying the Pambula Milk Bar site.

Image courtesy of the George Family Collection. All rights reserved.

Brothers are making good headway with installation of the electric lighting plant. All poles and wiring in Main Street are practically completed, while the engine has been set into its concrete bed and electric light points connected in a number of buildings.” By March the following year, it was reported that 90 per cent of local householders, as well as the School of Arts, Church of England, Post Office, hospital and all business houses had had electric lighting installed in their premises, making the town particularly advanced in this form of technology at that time and in comparison to many other areas, including even metropolitan regions. Godfrey Brothers were also responsible for initiating a range of other undertakings that were of benefit to the local community, amongst which were the local movie screenings at the School of Arts; and motor transport. By 1932 they were responsible for carrying students to Bega High, the closest secondary school to Pambula at that time.

In June 1936, a terrific fire broke out in Godfrey’s building and according to reports, it “…started soon after 7 p.m. in the service station, and before the Godfrey family at the rear of the building were aware of it, the whole of the front of the building was ablaze and they had to make their escape with what they stood up in. Explosions of petrol in the tanks in three cars and in the kerbside bowers followed, and dense volumes of black smoke from a large stock of tyres hung over the scene and added to the difficulties of the fire fighters. A big crowd quickly gathered, but by this time the front of the building had collapsed. Despite the risk of the petrol tanks beneath the footpath exploding, the crowd

The remains of Godfrey’s Motors following a disastrous 1936 street fire.

Image courtesy of the George Family Collection. All rights reserved.

worked gamely in a narrow lane with buckets, wetting the walls of Fraser’s Store and preventing the burning walls of the service station falling outwards.” The blaze ultimately resulted in the loss of the Godfrey’s Motors building, as well as the neighbouring McGoldrick's Café and the Pambula Post Office. Only the concerted efforts of bands of local residents saved what is now McPherson’s on the southern side, as well as the buildings on the northern side.

Godfrey’s operated for a period from a temporary service station in the area at the rear of the present milk bar, and approximately where the town’s car park is now located. Construction of the present building commenced in approximately late 1936, and in February the following year it was reported that “Godfrey’s Motor’s Ltd’s new premises are close to completion and should be ready for occupation in a few days.” The contract for construction of the Godfrey’s Garage building was undertaken by well known Bega contractor Mr. Thatcher, although it is not known whether he was responsible for the design of building.

After completion, Godfrey’s Garage continued to occupy the building for several years, operating a mechanics department, electrical repairs and wireless installation business. Petrol bowsers stood on the kerbside, and although these have since been removed, evidence can still be seen of their existence today.

Whilst the building housed Godfrey’s business they occupied the entire premises. However, some time after they vacated, the building was split into several separate areas and utilised by a number of different businesses at the same time. The area on the southern side and used today by the Sapphire Blue Real Estate Business remains a separate shop front, and was for many years up until very recent times used as a butchery. Among those who operated from this site were Harry and Norm Ballantyne and Barry (“Foozle”) Godfrey. Another similar area with an additional exterior door was located on the northern side of the building. This is now the raised portion of the Milk Bar business and was used for many years as a chemist and later a barber’s shop by proprietors such as Charlie Graham and Joe Veigal, who, according to one recollection, would hang a cow bell on the door for prospective customers to ring while he was having a cold refreshment at the nearby Royal Willows. Every now and then, he would poke his head out the pub door and look up the street just to ensure no one was there waiting for a haircut.

Pambula butchery, next door to what is n

Above: The tiling detail on the façade of the milk bar complex, C. 1963.

Below: The building when it was occupied by Bridget McPherson's drapery and mercery business, C. 1964.

Around the 1950s, a Mrs Gordon opened her exclusive dress shop in the main portion of the building, selling out to Bridget McPherson in about the early 1960s. McPherson's clothing, drapery and mercery business continued to operate from premises until about the late 1960s when she moved into the building next door. It was after Mrs Mac, as she was fondly known, relocated that a milk bar started up in the building, remaining as such ever since.

Statement of significance:

The site of the present day Pambula Milk Bar is important as the birth place of the town’s first electricity supply in 1927. As one of the earliest on the far south coast, this is important as an indication of the forward-thinking nature of the town’s population in general and the Pambula Progress Association, who wholeheartedly supported the initiative, in particular. The site was also the point of origin of the disastrous 1936 fire, which destroyed this and two neighbouring buildings. The reconstruction led to one of the most significant alterations to the town’s streetscape since the very beginning of its development. The present-day building is closely associated with Godfrey Brothers, important local businessmen who were responsible for the introduction a regular moving picture screening and later talkie films in the town; an

Above: Anzac Day, Pambula, C. 1969. It would have been around this time that Bridget McPherson moved from the present milk bar premises to the building next door, as the signage on both stores still carried her details.

early regular public transport system; and the first electrical supply to the town, one of the earliest on the far south coast. The building’s construction by important Bega-based building contractor Mr. Thatcher, who is recognised as having had a significant influence on local architecture during the period in question, is also significant as a tangible reminder of his works throughout the whole local area. The significance of the building is added to through its early and long association with important local businesswoman Bridget McPherson, who was claimed to be “Australia’s oldest tax payer” on her 100th birthday. The Pambula Milk Bar complex, with its decorative parapet and awning, makes a positive contribution to the veranda-lined streetscape that is so important to the town’s overall aesthetic appeal. Although many of the original features have been lost through alterations over the years, the general frame-work remains, and these aspects could be reinstated at a later date if opportunity arose.

References & bibliography:

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