 FitzGerald's was founded in March 1886, when George Parker FitzGerald—one of the early scholars of Hutchins School—established a wholesale business at 79 Collins Street, Hobart (later occupied by W. Coogan & Sons, now called Coogans).The original store was completely destroyed by fire in July 1911,
and was rebuilt within eight months, with the new store opening on 21 March 1912.FitzGerald's was a Tasmanian majority family owned department store business until it was acquired by Charles Davis Limited in 1981.