Hinemoa Street Businesses

The stretch of Hinemoa Street from Rugby Road to Mariposa Crescent includes many buildings that were once home to businesses before the suburb’s commercial centre shifted to Highbury. The large two-storey commercial building at 100 Hinemoa was built in around 1910 for W. F. Ross’s General Store. The smaller retail building next door dates to the mid-1920s while its neighbour, the Fishers Building, was erected in 1928. A block down the road at 128-130 Hinemoa, this double-gabled structure was built in the 1890s and originally housed a drapery. The retail-private residence at 134A Hinemoa began as a chemist’s shop in the 1900s.

Of particular note along this stretch is 140 Hinemoa: the Stott’s Building. R. E. Stott began his career as a butcher working at Hellaby’s to the south. Soon afterwards, he became the store’s manager. Eventually, Stott branched out on his own. In 1920, he opened his own butchery and began delivering meat all over Birkenhead and Northcote from his horse-drawn cart. Within a few years, he replaced the wagon with a petrol-powered van which was recognised throughout the area. He replaced the original shop in 1927 with the current structure and continued operating until World War II, when rationing made the business no longer viable.

Beyond the Stott’s Building, the most prominent structure is at 146 Hinemoa, a substantial two-storey Edwardian-style combination residence-retail space. The structure was built around 1909 by Frederick Souster, who initially leased it to a baker. In 1915, Robert George Boyd leased and later purchased the building.

Continue along Hinemoa Street.