Coast man: "My mum and dad were married at the sex shop”
MARK Murtagh's mum and dad were married at the "Totally Adult” sex shop site in Maroochydore.
Except, when Lily Maud Paker and Denis Laurence Murtagh tied-the-knot in 1939, the strip of land on the corner of Aerodrome Road and Maud Street was a Baptist church.
Mystery surrounds exactly when the Baptist church sold the land to other parties that led to its existing usage.
The Baptist Church Queensland wasn't able to help, although the media contact did source the official wedding announcement in the National Library.
The Reverend A Chrishom officiated and the local girl guides formed a guard of honour.
Mr Murtagh said his granddad, Willam Ernest Parker, gave the corner section of the block to the church as he owned most of the land in that now busy corner of Maroochydore.
"He owned a dairy farm there,” Mr Murtagh said.
"His home was now where Aldi is and he used to be able to look down the street to see what the river was doing.”
Parker Street, where Aldi is located, is named after him.
Maud Street, the busy street off Aerodrome Road was named after his mum, who was always known as Maud even though it was her middle name.
His aunts, Rose and May, also had streets in the area named after them.
The last sale of the property the Daily could find was in 2010 by Brisbane's Knights Frank real estate agency.
Selling agent Chris Bailey remembered it was a "receiver's sale” and it sold for $1 million
"The owner owned four or five blocks along there before going into receivership.
"The sex shop was there at the time.
A maternity shop once was once located next to the sex shop, but it has since moved out.
