Filmers corner. Filmers corner.
The site on which the Filmer family built their shop and the building itself, is a well-known landmark and meeting place for locals. The building also has some architectural significance, being a unique style of architecture in the town of Katanning.
In 1904, the Filmer family moved from South Australia to settle on land at Katanning. One of the Filmer sons, Walter J., moved into the town in 1920 and set up business (Filmer and Forbes Limited) in a small shop owned by the Cass family near the corner of Clive and Daping Streets because he saw the “opportunities offering in motor power”. [Bignell, p.200] He also set himself up as a land agent.
Walter and Ethel Filmer
Progressively, Filmer moved into larger premises until finally in 1938 he purchased “a vacant block on the corner of Clive and Daping and had Philpott and Baldwin build his own premises (completed in 1942)”. [Anderson,p.433] It was named “Filmer’s Corner”.
As soon as she was old enough, Filmer’s daughter Ivy began working as an office girl for her father. In addition, his sons were to later join him in the business, which had considerably extended. The firm gained a solid reputation in farm machinery – sales, parts and services. In the late 1940s and 50s the adjoining block was purchased from Arthur Hobbs (the baker) and additions were made to the store.
Filmer retired in 1951, but the business continued to operate with the sons in charge, changing the trading name to Filmer Bros. When the business closed it was purchased by George Edwards who set up a Holden Motors dealership – Edwards Motors. His son Adrian sold the premises to Wayne Spry who operated Cut’n’Cote Hardware. The building is still commonly referred to as “Filmer’s Corner”.
Constructed from brick with a flat corrugated iron roof, the style of the building alludes to the Inter-war functionalist architecture with its simple curved lines and flat roof concealed by a parapet. The Clive Street facade has a suspended awning with a pressed metal lining and the shop fronts are authentic with their metal frames and plate glass. The copies are stylised versions of classical ones.