Valentine’s first appeared in Bendigo as a furniture and goods store when Fred Valentine opened the shop on Queen Street in May 1947. Fred Valentine passed the business along to his son Allan, who ran the business with his wife Joy from Queen Street and then a new store on Hargreaves Street, which opened in the old Favalora family bakery at 369 Hargreaves Street in 1984. Current Director, Peter Valentine (pictured below) was raised around the business at its current location, and took over the reins from his father Allan in 2006.
Newly relocated to View Street, the centre of Bendigo’s art and culture scene, Valentine’s Antiques has made its home in the Sandhurst Trustees Building. This is a remarkably beautiful building, built in 1874 to house the Sandhurst Post and Telegraph Office.
The intact intact nineteenth century interior, is noted for its well crafted joinery and plasterwork - the perfect backdrop for Peter’s incredible collection of exquisite antique pieces. He considers it one of Bendigo’s best historical buildings. The entrance is graced by a magnificent marble statue of a young boy standing on a pedestal by Pietro Bazzanti.
Valentine’s specialises in fine quality nineteenth century English and French glassware, porcelain, boxes, furniture, jewellery and decorative items. They have been a very long-time enthusiastic supporter of Gilly’s products. There is also a lounge where customers can relax on the Chesterfield sofas and enjoy the surroundings.
The newly renovated building houses a total of 24 specialist dealers, each with their own showcase.
In addition, there is an artist’s hub where five working artists display their pieces, ranging from photography and jewellery to embroidery and clothing. Peter is aiming to have specialist lecturers coming in to give talks about silver, porcelain, art, jewellery, interior design and much more in future.
Valentine's Antique Gallery is located at 16-22 View Street, and is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am-5pm and Sunday 11am-4pm. Their website can be reached here.
Images courtesy of Noni Hyett