The shopping centre of any town is always important, but especially in a country town. In the past twenty years or so, the shopping strip of Inverloch has undergone a total change. Only two buildings remain in A’Beckett St from the period 1960-62 shown in the photo below. Those two buildings are the Esplanade Hotel and the building in William Street facing A’Beckett St – the gift, dress and art decoration shop. This is quite a staggering change, and it is true to say, the shopping strip of Inverloch is totally new. All are modern, and it comes as quite a surprise to discover that Inverloch was declared a town in 1886 by the Victorian Governor Sir Henry Brougham Loch.
The old Inverloch of the early Sixties. With a centre bitumen strip, dirt and grass edges, spaces between some shops, and lot fewer cars that today – we ask, how do we know the date of this picture? Answer – to the right of the black car can be seen two cars. These are two 1960 Holdens. A’Beckett Street viewed from Williams St, Inverloch.This is 1935, with the Esplanade Hotel being built, following the disastrous fire of the old timber hotel in 1934. The builder was Alfred Frongerud, who also built the Wonthaggi Railway Station. Note the state of the streets and the old timber buildings nearby.The scene is A’Beckett Street, with J.D.Holmes the grocer and baker. This was a general all-around shop. The photo is from about 1935. The same site is now occupied by the National Bank and surrounding small shops.The old post office sat snugly to the left of Holmes’s grocer and baker shop. It is a small extension, poking out from the front of the residence. The old GR (George Rex – King George) sign at the top, along with the other signs, give an old-fashioned charm to the structure.Donaghue’s Shop later Nelson’s Tarax Bar – ‘Coastal Retreat’ was in Beach Rd (now The Esplanade), facing what is now The Glade.
