Historical Wimberly building to be transformed into whimsical bookstore

Approaching its 100th birthday, a historical building in Goomeri will soon be transformed into a whimsical bookstore.

Will Wimberly building in Goomeri will soon be transformed into a whimsical bookstore, thank to Felicity Dascombe. Photo/Holly Cormack.

Opening its doors for the first time nearly 100 years ago, the Wimberly building in Goomeri has lived a thousand lives.

First opened by the Wimberly family as a grocery and hardware store in 1923, the building's walls have held a cafe, restaurant, wine cellar, and in a matter of weeks, the Wimberly & Co bookstore.

"It can tell a lot of tales like a book," owner Felicity Dascombe said.

"We fell in love with the name and the history of the building. That's why we kept it.

"It has a nice charm about it."

Set to open toward the end of April, Wimberly & Co is a first hand bookstore shrouded in history.

The store contains historical pieces collected from all over Australia, including an arch, light fixtures and other little architraves situated around the store, surviving from the 1800s.

The historical Wimberly building will soon gain a new lease on life, reopening as a bookstore this month. Photo/Wimberly & Co

With COVID presenting an opportunity to purchase the building at an affordable price, Ms Dascombe said she saw an opportunity to bring a decades old dream to life.

"We've been in Goomeri forever and I've always wanted to have a bookstore here," she said.

"It's been a dream of mine for about 20 years."

"I've always loved books. They're just an escape.

"You can have a bad day and pick up a book, and it'll transform you somewhere else."

A true lover of all things literature, Miss Dascombe said her favourite book is the dictionary.

"Because I wasn't read to a lot as a child I used to carry a dictionary around with me, because I had trouble with big words," she said.

"I'd have the dictionary with me so I could look them up and make sense of it all.

"And I love that all the stories are in there somewhere, just waiting to happen."

Alongside managing soon-to-be six travel agencies, including Hello World Kingaroy, Gympie, Murgon, Coolangatta, and starting from this week Dalby and Toowoomba, Ms Dascombe will oversee the business and finance side of the store.

"We've been very overwhelmed by how excited people are about the store," she said, adding many people have already placed orders for books prior to opening.

"We also had authors from Sunshine Coast, Brisbane and all over wanting to come and do book launches here."

Originally published as Historical Wimberly building to be transformed into whimsical bookstore