gympieregionallibraries

Imbil Early Businesses

The town of Imbil has a long and vibrant history, and for many years its thriving commercial hub provided local residents with a wide variety of stores and services. Read on to learn more about some of the local businesses which shaped Imbil’s story.

Bakery- The first bakery in Imbil was started around 1917 in William Street by Mr Turner. In 1919, Mr L Muir took over the business. It was later owned by Mr T Halcoop and then Mr Muir again in 1928. In 1932, it was then sold to Mr G Washington briefly, before he sold to Mr H Maudsley.  In 1936, Mr Maudsley built a new shop in the main street of Imbil, which featured a bakehouse out the back. For the next fifty years, Imbil residents enjoyed the smell of freshly baked bread from down the street before the shop closed and became a café and general store (King, 2001).

J.F Jocumsen’s Butcher shop in Imbil, 1948. Source: Gympie Regional Libraries Photograph Collection.

Butcher shop- In the 1914 land sale, Dan Mulcahy purchased the land which became known as “butcher shop corner”. Mr Mulcahy sold the land to Daniel Robinson in 1917 and it was around this time that a butcher shop was built in Imbil.  Over the years, this butcher’s shop has had many different owners, including Mr Bonny, Mr Lowe, Mr George Meyers and Mr Gomersall just to name a few (King, 2001).

Gilroy’s General Store in Imbil, (year unknown). Source: Gympie Regional Libraries Photograph Collection.

Mrs Moynehan’s Store in Imbil, c1948. Source: Gympie Library Photograph Collection.

Grocery and Drapery stores- Ada Gilroy ran a travelling store which followed the workers on the Mary Valley Line, until the line was finished at Brooloo in 1915. Following this, she built a shop, with residence behind, in Yabba Road. She ran a general store, in competition with another business called Moynehan’s, until she passed away in 1950. She also ran a delivery service for residents who lived out of town, travelling as far as Stirling’s Crossing (King, 2001).

The other general store was run by Mrs Moyneham, who was also a very hard worker. She also provided a delivery service to the outer areas of Imbil and her store was open until 9pm! She was also a very generous woman, as it is said she gave a food parcel to the family of every person that enlisted during the Second World war (King, 2001).

Wyatt’s Café- M E Daly purchased a block of land (next to the present-day post office) in the 1914 Imbil land sale and built a shop on the site. Mrs Wyatt leased the building and ran a café and fruit shop there. Her husband also had a barber shop at the same premises. Following this, Cyril Ticknell ran a fruit and vegetable shop (King, 2001).

Mr Whittington’s Boarding House– Mr George Whittington opened a boarding house in Imbil on the 1st of November 1915. There were three bedrooms in the main building and two extra rooms in a 24 by 12ft building outside. There was also a sizeable dining room, which he used to cater for his guests (Gympie Times, 1915). This boarding house was located on Yabba Creek Rd, near where Moynehan’s store was later built.

O’Leary’s Refreshment Room and Boarding House- Margaret O’Leary ran a refreshment room and boarding house in the 1920s, near George Meyer’s Butchery, where she sold hot dinners, soft drinks, ice cream and cigarettes to locals. She sold the business in 1924 to the Clifford’s (King, 2001).

O’Leary’s Boarding House, Imbil (year unknown). Source: Gympie Regional Libraries Photograph Collection.

Motor Garage– The first motor garage in Imbil was owned by Mrs Hawkins on the Yabba Creek side of the street, on the second block away from the railway. The first person to run this business was Arthur Girdler. The business changed hands a few times following this, with the Baldwin family taking over in 1926 and later the Skennerton family. The building was later repurposed for a period to package Dubosia (corkwood) before being dismantled and being erected on the opposite side of the street. Around 1944, a new garage was opened by Richard Walter Sims and was located near where the caravan park is today (King, 2001).

Wallander’s Blacksmith shop– In 1915, Phil Wallander bought a block of land between Whittington’s Boarding House and where Moynehan’s store was to be built. The demand increased for a blacksmith in the area when more people moved to Imbil with their horse and bullock teams, which they used for timber getting. Wallander’s shop was so successful that he even opened another small shop at Kandanga which operated three days a week. He operated his blacksmith shop right up until the 1950s (King, 2001).

Phil Wallander’s Blacksmith shop, Imbil (year unknown). Source: Gympie Regional Libraries Photograph Collection.

Cordial Manufacturers– In the late 1940s, Ernie and Ray Hine operated a cordial business across from where the high school is today. It was a popular business which even attracted the local bees! Quoted in the book “Imbil- Jewel of the Mary Valley” by Joy King (2001), Ray Hine recalled how bees used to cover the cordial factory workers most of the time due to the sweet smell of the sugar and syrup! The business was always very busy, with Christmas being the busiest time of year. During Christmas time, it was common that the cordial makers would work until midnight to ensure the orders were complete in time (King, 2001).

The Imbil Hotel– In 1916, the first licence for the Imbil hotel was granted and Jim Larney called for tenders to erect a new building for this purpose. Mr W Fenwick, the architect, designed a fine hotel which contained 24 rooms. The building went up quickly and was completed by 1917. In January of 1917, Jim Larney put the hotel up for public auction. Over the years, the hotel has had over 32 publicans. The Imbil hotel has narrowly escaped two fires in 1923 and in 1939. The 1923 fire was the result of a kitchen fire. The fire was thankfully noticed in time and was extinguished with just a few buckets of water, with only a few clothes destroyed. In 1939, three men were asleep in their rooms when they were woken by the smell of smoke. One of the men discovered that the wall of his bedroom had been smouldering for some time. They sounded the alarm and were able to extinguish the fire, once again using only buckets of water. Thankfully only a few partition boards near the wall were destroyed (King, 2001).

A bullock team out the front of the Imbil Hotel. Source: Gympie Regional Libraries Photograph Collection.

Transportation Services– In 1913 Mr W Coleburn ran a mail coach service from Gympie to Bunya Creek three days a week. In 1914, it was joined by a coach passenger service run by J Mills which did trips between Brooloo and Kandanga. This meant that passengers could catch the train to or from Gympie and return by coach. In the early 1920s, Mr A Muir also had a taxi service in Imbil. As well as this, Mr H Wieland had a 7 seater Buick, which he used to transport passengers to Gympie in 1926. Other taxi drivers included Allan Biggam, J H Tregoning, Mrs Parker and C Stubbins (King, 2001).

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Post published on the 26th of November 2025.