McDonnell & East

Hubert East and Frank McDonnell established their business in 1901 but McDonnell & East did not open in Ipswich until 19 August 1987. McDonnell & East had several department stores in Brisbane and regional Queensland and were only rivalled by Myer and David Jones.

In Ipswich, the department store was to anchor the retail revival in the CBD following the redevelopment of much of the city centre, and development of the mall that occurred around this time.

Located at the corner of Brisbane & Ellenborough Streets, where the North Star Hotel had stood, the store had an upper and lower level.

Within a few years the retailer ran into trouble when both inflation and interest rates soared. Gradually the store decreased its departments and then its stock while shrinking the floor space used. By 1993 the store had closed. Shortly after their demise Birch Carroll & Coyle's Ipswich City Cinemas opened in the space.

Around 1994, after almost a century in operation, the company that owned McDonnell & East became insolvent and the well known retailer became defunct.