Revival for corner store
GOOD news last week for the former Bright and Hitchcocks building on Moorabool St with the announcement developers Bill Votsaris and Cameron Hamilton have purchased the site for $7.52 million.
Mr Votsaris, who has overseen the reinvigoration of Little Malop St east of Moorabool St, said he was excited by the potential for the site.
Bright and Hitchcocks dates back to the 1850s with the merger of two businesses. The three Hitchcock brothers had merged with William Bright in 1855 to form Bright and Company, with premises at the corner of Little Malop and Moorabool streets.
The name Bright and Hitchcocks was adopted in 1861, and the building was redeveloped in the early 1900s to include the distinctive bandstand overlooking Moorabool St. The store was extended south in the 1920s.
Former Geelong mayor Howard Hitchcock, who was the son of one of the founders, was the last of the Hitchcocks to be associated with the firm. Hitchcock retired from the business in 1927.
Howard Hitchcock was mayor of Geelong from 1917 to 1922, and was the driving force behind the building of the Great Ocean Road. He is commemorated by two entrance pillars to Johnstone Park.
Bright and Hitchcocks became a public company in 1950 and was sold to Foy and Gibsons in 1959. There followed a number of owners, including Burns Philp and Co, which took over in 1969 and renamed the store Mates.
In 1976 Chas Moore took over the lease and changed the name to Moores. Moores closed in 1979 and since then the building has been divided into smaller shops.
The extensive basement of the Bright and Hitchcocks building once housed a restaurant known as the Marina which had a south seas flavour.
THE Geelong Museum Association’s next Sunday Talk, entitled Howard Hitchcock — Geelong’s greatest mayor, will be presented by historian Norman Houghton at the National Wool Museum on Sunday, March 25, at 2pm. Bookings through TryBooking. Contact: peterjohnbegg@gmail.com