Queensland Heritage Register - Ipswich First Website : Architect George Brockwell Gill designed the flour mill in 1900 and Worley & Whitehead started building it in 1901. It is part of the historic shopping precinct known as “Top of Town” and makes an important contribution to the streetscape. The flour mill is associated with politician Francis Kates and his son Francis Henry Kates, and with the development of the family’s milling enterprises. In May 1910, Cribb and Foote bought the property for less than the mill’s construction cost, using it to accommodate several departments while their new building was being erected. It seems to have then continued in use as the firm’s Stove Department. An awning with decorative timber brackets was erected over the footpath in front of the single story section and a lift was built. In 1926, the property was bought by the Johnson family and used as a car showroom. In September 1935, radio station 4IP was established in the top floor, entry being via an external staircase on the western side. An awning was erected across the front of the building, incorporating the earlier Cribb and Foote section of awning; the date is not certain but was probably in the late 1920s as work appears to be in progress in a 1927 photograph. Later uses of the mill included housing Paddy’s Market and storing furniture. In the mid-1980s, the upper floor was used for a martial arts school and the lower floors became a bridal shop and fabric shop. Taken from the Ipswich First Website and The Heritage Register: In 1985, the property was purchased by Beverley de Witt and it was converted into a restaurant, function room and shopping arcade in 1993. An additional two-story wing was built at the rear of the mill section to house the function room.
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