Dival's Store Site

Statement of Significance

The place is notable as an early site in the business and commercial development of the town of Woodanilling.

Physical Description

The site faces Burt Road and is immediately north of the National Bank site. The property had a house at the rear (east), later lived in by Rene Thompson.

Nothing remains of the original buildings and a steel mesh gate marks the entrance to the property which has a number of trees growing on the Burt Road edge. The store was a double replicated gabled roof building with a dropped pitched verandah facing Burt Road. A petrol bowser was situated towards the road verge.

History

In late 1905 it was reported by the Woodanilling correspondent that, "Ben Hobart was hard at work erecting a shop next to the hotel, for I understand, a general store."

The building was described by John Leggoe whose family moved into the old hotel in 1914 - "North of our house in the main street the first building was a small corrugated iron building used for banking by (I think) the National Bank Next was a double fronted verandahed weatherboard building which was the Dival store. Originally it was am branch of Rogers of Katanning, but soon after we went to Woodanilling it was taken over by Edwin Dival. Adjoining it on the north side was a small stone butchers shop. There was no butcher but Divals ran it in conjunction with the store on a kind of part time basis. Behind Dival's store were a series of storage sheds and the house in which the family lived was a stone structure facing the back street. The elder sons of the Dival family, Stan and Cecil, served in the shop, Stan having returned from
the war with a wounded right hand. In a stable behind the store lived Paddy, a fiery draught horse that Cecil drove in the store spring cart. Cecil would stand right on the tail of the cart, laying back on the reins like the driver of a trotting spider. Paddy and the cart were used to bring supplies for the store from the station yard Cecil also made a weekly delivery of orders to
farmers in the Cartmeticup area to the east of Woodanilling. Another member of the Dival family was Florrie who married a dashing young returned 10* Light Horseman named Spencer Gwynne.
He subsequently became Road Board secretary. 1 can well remember the wedding which took place in the agricultural hall on the western side of the line. The whole district turned out to see the tall handsome officer, resplendent in polished leggings and Sam Browne belt with nodding emu plumes in his hat, emerge from the church with his bride. Other returned soldiers of the
district in uniform formed a guard of honour and made an arch of .303 riffles. But they shattered everyone's nerves and nearly deafened the bride when they fired a volley from the arched rifles as the couple passed beneath. The youngest member of the Dival family, Doris, was our age and
was one of our constant playmates. In later life she entered the Education Department and made a name for herself in the musical side of the department."

In 1907, young Zetta (later Mrs F Carter) remembered - "Facing the railway was the hotel (a stone building now owned by the Road Board). Between the hotel and the shop was the Road Board office - a small iron building with H Pittelkow Secretary on the notice board. Further along the street north of the hotel was another iron shop with a big ad on the top front 'The Ben Hobart Stores' and the stone building, now the Post Office.

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This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.