Pannarai Cafe
Corner of Moreton Terrace and Point Leander Drive
This building was constructed in 1912 as a shop and storehouse for local businessman Samuel Moore. He was a significant Westralian politician and the moulded black swan on the pediment reflected his patriotism. Pearce & Herbert’s store operated in the shop from 1916, and in 1920 the Carlton Tearooms opened with an open-air dance hall and a billiards room in the main west wing rooms. In 1927 a branch of the Elite Supply Company (drapery) of Geraldton began operating in the corner shop. In the early ‘30s it was renamed The Cabaret and it may be from this time, combined with the cellar beneath the ‘tea room’, that it acquired a reputation as a sly-grog venue. In 1934 it was purchased by Jack and Betsy Brennand who ran Brennands Tearooms from the corner shop for nearly 20 years, while their son Jack junior ran the garage next door. In the early 1950s the building became a temporary branch and staff quarters of the National Bank, followed by a succession of food and café ventures, and in c1983 Tokos Restaurant was opened. After many years of vacancy the building was reopened as Pannarai Café in mid 2020.
Mrs Williams and Iris Brand in front of Elite Drapers and Tearooms, 1926 I IRME1881
