The Flats & Blue’s Café

Tearooms were immensely popular in town, selling homemade ginger beer and ice-cream, which was churned by volunteers and sold for a penny a lick (cone).
Blue’s Cafe took its name from Colin Campbell, nick-named Blue. He and his wife Esme managed this establishment from 1959-1965.
Mrs Alice Pascoe, Nanna Dunn, Mr Sweetapple and Lawley McCagh, at different stages also serviced the town with their specialty tearoom provisions.
The Irwin Index, a local newspaper of the day, carries advertisements for Oliver’s Tea Rooms and Cosy Corner Tea Rooms (run by Mrs Kilmurray) in 1926.
A decade later, the same paper advertises Mrs E.G. Gilders ran a tearoom opposite the railway station, and Mrs S. Fickling had the Royal Tea Rooms.
The Flats were built in 1928 and have had many and varied uses throughout the decades, including a saddlery, dressmaker, bicycle shop and the Rural and Industry Bank agency.
Hannah Clapp ran a hair salon from here in the 1950s and locals also worked here when it was a bakehouse, managed by Laurie Broad. At times, the building was rented out as residences.
Recently, The Flats have been part private residence and part business, including a sewing service, Bowen therapist and a second-hand shop.