In 1876, it was bought by William Milne, a carpenter and undertaker who’d built the original building. In 1882, he let one room to the Standard Bank. In 1883 the bank rented the whole building as both Bank and Manager’s residence.
It was later owned by Alexander McMaster in 1892 and McFarlane in 1896. When acquired by Thesen & Co. in 1912, they renamed it Melville’s.
The curved gable with decorative plaster work was added in 1922.
The store was closed in the mid 1970’s on the sale of Thesen & Co to Barlow Rand.
Information provided courtesy of the Knysna Historical Society. Let’s preserve the history of Knysna whilst living in the joy of the present. You can contact Philip Caveney through caveney1@telkomsa.net. 
