Barnes and Co. Trading Place
| Barnes and Co. Trading Place | |
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Smith & Miller Building (formerly Barnes & Co), 2015
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| Location | 118 Palmerin Street, Warwick, Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia |
| Coordinates | 28°13′03″S 152°01′58″E / 28.2176°S 152.0327°ECoordinates: 28°13′03″S 152°01′58″E / 28.2176°S 152.0327°E |
| Design period | 1900 - 1914 (early 20th century) |
| Built | 1910 - 1911 |
| Architect | Wallace & Gibson |
| Official name: Barnes and Co. Trading Place, Smith and Miller Furniture Store | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 21 October 1992 |
| Reference no. | 600956 |
| Significant period | 1910s (fabric) 1911-ongoing (historical retail use) |
| Significant components | hoist, safe |
| Builders | M Ivory |
 Location of Barnes and Co. Trading Place in Queensland
Location of Barnes and Co. Trading Place in Queensland
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Barnes and Co. Trading Place is a heritage-listed former department store at 118 Palmerin Street, Warwick, Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Wallace & Gibson and built from 1910 to 1911 by M Ivory. It is also known as Smith & Miller Furniture Store. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
The former Barnes & Co department store, now housing Smith and Miller furniture showroom, situated on the corner of Palmerin and King Streets, Warwick, was constructed in 1910-11 to designs of local Warwick architects, Wallace and Gibson.
The building was described in contemporary reports as a trade palace and was, in fact, a department store. Department stores became popular in England during the mid nineteenth century, assuming the popularity arcades formerly held for would-be purchasers. The new stores were large scale buildings, usually multi-levelled, with impressive architectural edifices raising them to the standards of public monuments. By the First World War the department store flourished as a middle class institution where shoppers were less intimidated and offered a wider variety of goods than were available in traditional exclusive shops.
Barnes & Co in Warwick was typical of many of the early Australian department stores. The company which was known under various names had been merchants in Warwick since 1874 and, in the tradition of many other large stores, considerable expansion and rebuilding occurred resulting in the 1911 building extant today.
George Powell Barnes who founded Barnes & Co, was born in 1856 in Castlemaine, Victoria. He was educated in Queensland when his father, a driver employed by Cobb & Co established the Brisbane-Gympie-Maryborough run. George worked as a cashier in various stores in regional Queensland before moving to Warwick in 1878 and opening a store. Early stores on the Darling Downs were a necessity to the farmers; their isolation made contact with potential buyers difficult and stores were able to act as middlemen and ensure the disposal of goods and produce.
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