General News
27 September, 2025
Restoration move on surviving section of Jennings Store
By CHRIS EARL DESCENDANTS of the Jennings family and owner of the historic Inglewood store destroyed by fire last year are in an 11th hour scurry to save an undamaged part of the building. David Oakley and members of the Pattison family have spent...
By CHRIS EARL
DESCENDANTS of the Jennings family and owner of the historic Inglewood store destroyed by fire last year are in an 11th hour scurry to save an undamaged part of the building.
David Oakley and members of the Pattison family have spent the past week clearing land adjoining the Brooke Street property for demolition company Hopleys to remove the front section of the store built in 1866.
Ken Pattison, whose grandmother was a Jennings, and Mr Oakley after working on the access block after an emergency building order was issued that could stave off complete demolition.
But they have a tight timeline to complete works. The Loddon Shire permit requires the site to be made safe by next week.
Loddon Shire early this month put a demolition order on the surviving rear section of the shop damaged by fire in August 2024. The facade and front part of the building were demolished hours after volunteer firefighters extinguished the fire.
Council’s operations director Steve Van Orsouw on Monday said: “Council continues to work with the property owner to clean up the site and make the building safe. No further information can be provided due to ongoing enforcement action.”
The Loddon Herald understands an emergency building order last week gave Mr Oakley until yesterday to complete a site clean up.
Surviving walls are to be reduced to 1.6 metres and rubble removed in the next week.
Mr Oakley, who has continued his business selling chickens since the fire, said he had felt pressured by Loddon Shire to agree to demolish everything”.
Mr Pattison said it was hoped that bricks could be salvaged and used in restoration and repair of surviving brickwork. “There will also need to be a new floor over the cellar and I hope that some of the oregon beams can also be re-used,” Mr Pattison said. “We’ll salvage as much as we can.”
Mr Pattison said his grandmother was a member of the Jennings family, was born and raised in Inglewood and later married CD Graham who designed the memorial hall in Boort. “The Jennings store is part of our history.”
Mr Oakley last Friday said the demolition reprieve was “important for the town and for the descendants of of the Jennings family”.