The Old Corner Store
In 1900 James Prowse opened up a shop in Cressy as a timber merchant, supplying settlers in the area. But by the late 1920’s, people were starting to buy their timber direct from the sawmills in the Otways. This was also the same time when his son Stewart was starting to take over the business. Things were starting to look grim.
Then the local grocery store closed down, and seeing an opportunity, James and Stewart went and bought all their stock and scales and decided to start selling hardware and groceries instead of timber. Stewart would ride his bike around the town at the start of the week taking orders from customers. These orders then would be gathered together, wrapped in brown paper and tied with string, and delivered back to the customers towards the end of the week. History tells us that he was a master of folding and tying, being very fast with this skill.
Then in 1978, Stewart and his wife Dorothy closed the store down and retired.
The façade pretty much remains the same as it did when the doors closed.
Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria
