Physical description
Bendigo Advertiser "The way we were" from 1999. Corner residence circa 1900: Swedish born Karl Van Damme arrived on the Bendigo diggings in about 1852 and established himself as a tobacconist at 85 Pall Mall, next to the Shamrock Hotel. Although he had been living at the corner of View and Valentine streets in Sandhurst as early as 1883 it was not until 1898 that William Beebe designed a Queen Victoria style building erected by G.A. Davey for Van Damme. By 1905, van Damme, recorded as a tobacco merchant and importer, had established a branch at 143 Pall Mall, near Mitchell street. He sold the business at 85 Pall Mall in 1909, but remained at number 143 until the early 1920s. By this time it was known as Pikes Buildings. The business was sold in 1924
