It used to be The Arcade – or Lamonds Arcade, because of the Lamond Real Estate office on its street front, which had replaced the original garage where the worthy citizens of Wynnum Manly had their cars serviced and filled. In 1984 a newcomer, Keith Anderson, came to town. He instantly fell in love with Wynnum Manly, bought a house, then bought Lamonds Real Estate and settled down to raise his family in the heart of the community.
Forty years later Keith is still very much involved, Lamonds Real Estate is still there and the Arcade – now known as The Laneway – has been transformed into a humming little hub of local enterprise. The garage is gone but in its place there are several privately-owned, family-run businesses.
As well as Lamonds there’s an industry training company, MYtraining, MAW Money (a mortgage broker), a café/restaurant with the tempting name of Tasty Pocket and a cosy barbershop, Chinwags, that boasts an irresistible drawcard; Walter the labradoodle. There’s even a portrait of him, resplendent in smoking jacket and cravat, smoking a meerschaum pipe – though Brendan Gabbett (the barber) assures me that Walter’s now given up pipe smoking.
Sarah Anderson, a third-generation Wynnumite and Keith’s daughter-in-law, says that while there was a potentially sizable profit to be made by developing the The Laneway, Keith chose the option of providing services to the locals and giving back to the community.
“Lamonds is part of the lives of many local residents,” she says. “There are generations of folk living in homes that Lamonds has helped them find, or working in commercial spaces that we’ve sold or that we manage. We have generations of one family that have dealt with us and stay with us because we’re a local family and we understand community needs.
“Keith’s delighted to see the local acceptance the Laneway refurbishment has created and he looks forward to his son Scott Anderson, now Principal of Lamonds Real Estate, continuing service to many generations to come.”
And for the locals, living in a high-rise, high-density, intensely busy world it’s a delight to escape to a friendly laneway with a few select specialty shops and settle down for a coffee. And perhaps pay a visit to a charming dog.
