The earliest records of this business located to date are two advertisements from 1866, from The Wagga Wagga Express newspaper. The first is an advertisement for the 'Newtown Store Annual Stock-Taking. Love & Roberts Respectfully inform their customers and the general public that their Annual Sale prior to taking stock will commence on WEDNESDAY NEXT 24th January and continue till the 24th February, and beg to state that they hold at present very large stocks of General Merchandise, which they wish to reduce to facilitate the work of stock-taking which takes place on the 28th February. In order to effect the object desired, they have made very great reduction in prices of goods. Special reductions have been made in the list of goods below, their surplus stock consisting principally in the goods which will be sold for prompt cash.'

The list of sale items includes:

'Good Prints, fast colours 1/2 [d] per yard'

'Best quality prints 1/2 [d] per yard'

'White Calico 7 6 per doz. Yards'

The second of their advertisements, published on May 19 1866, described their new stock for the 'Autumn and Winter season' and gave an extensive listing of the range of fabrics, hats and other draperies they sold.

No surviving directories in the National Library of Australia collection include Love and Roberts, up to 1867. In 1867 they were listed as 'Storekeepers, Wagga Wagga' in Samson's National Directory of New South Wales for 1867.

References:
Samson's National Directory of New South Wales for 1867-1868.
Advertisement, The Wagga Wagga Express, February 3 1866, p.3.
Advertisement, The Wagga Wagga Express, May 19 1866, p.3.

More Information