General Post Office, Perth
Encyclopedia
The General Post Office is a heritage landmark building in Perth
, Western Australia
. Located on the western side of Forrest Place
in the city's central business district
, its imposing stone facade
is in the Beaux-Arts style. The building was completed in 1923 after almost a decade of construction, which was protracted by World War I
and the resulting shortages of construction materials. At the time of its opening, it was the largest building in Perth.
, the harbourmaster
was appointed to perform the postal services for the colony. A General Post Office was proclaimed in St Georges Terrace
in 1835, and in 1841 a Postmaster General
was appointed. The colonial Posts and Telegraph Department took over control of Perth's telegraph services in 1871, and telephone services in 1889. The Perth General Post Office was relocated to St Georges Terrace between 1887 and 1890, however by 1910 this accommodation was inadequate for the services provided. In 1900 there were 175 post offices across Western Australia, together with 160 telephone exchanges. The Commonwealth
took over control of postal and telecommunication services at Federation
in 1901.
from the Perth railway station
. This land stretched to Murray Street
and featured an "unhealthy" shopping arcade named Central Arcade. The land was to be used as a Commonwealth Government precinct, allowing the Commonwealth departments to move out of the cramped Treasury Buildings at the corner of St Georges Terrace and Barrack Street, which it shared with the State Government
. A proposal was made in 1912 for a 66 feet (20.1 m) wide street through the site featuring a new General Post Office building.
State Principal Architect Hillson Beasley visited Melbourne, where he worked with Commonwealth Architect John Smith Murdoch
to design the new General Post Office building. Architectural plans were drawn up and the construction contract with C. W. Arnott signed on 7 July 1914 at a cost of £
232,700. These original plans provided for five storey
s above ground level, in addition to a basement.
Construction commenced in mid-1914, and initially experienced a delay due to sandy soil on the site. The foundation stone was laid by Minister for Home Affairs W. O. Archibald on 8 October 1915. The subsequent outbreak of World War I
led to a significant delay in the building's construction. The steel to be used in the construction became subject to an embargo by the British Government in 1916. An alternative supply was finally sourced from Broken Hill Proprietary in 1920. Construction was later delayed due to a six-month engineers' strike. The flooring and fittings were originally to be Australian blackwood, however Murdoch substituted jarrah which could be locally sourced.
W. B. Hardwick succeeded Beasley as the State's Principal Architect in 1916, and oversaw the project from that point until its completion. Although the end date given in the construction contract was October 1917, the building was not nearing completion and this term in the contract was waived. Over the course of construction, the design of the building had been modified several times, largely in an effort to reduce costs. In 1921 it was resolved to add a further two storeys to the top of the building for use by other Commonwealth departments. These additional storeys were to be walled with brickwork, rather than the stone used to clad the rest of the building's facade. However, the side and rear walls of the building were also of brick, and so the brick attic storey
"tied in" with these treatments.
The General Post Office was officially opened on 26 September 1923 after around nine years of protracted construction, at a total cost of £400,000.
The new street in front of the building was ceremonially opened on the same day, and named "Forrest Place" in honour of the late Sir John Forrest
, Western Australia's first Premier
. At its opening, the new General Post Office was Perth's largest building, and it has been said that its imposing design proclaimed "the might of the new Commonwealth".
building immediately south of the General Post Office. It was officially opened on 22 March 1933 by Sir Robert Gibson
. It was designed in a similar style to the General Post Office by the architectural staff of the bank, and built by A. Douglas for a tender price of £207,000. The building featured cornice lines and columns of the same style as the General Post Office. Another similarly-styled Commonwealth department was planned for the General Post Office's northern side; this was not constructed for many decades, and did not emulate the design of the General Post Office.
Forrest Place was closed to traffic in the late 1980s as part of the Forrest Chase
development. The Padbury Buildings on the eastern side of Forrest Place, which had been constructed in 1925, were demolished, and the newly-created pedestrian mall featured basement parking and loading docks for the General Post Office. The widening of Forrest Place has effectively created a town square
dominated by the General Post Office building.
The General Post Office was recognised for its heritage value by interim listing on the Western Australian Register of Heritage Places on 22 June 1992; it received a permanent entry on the Register on 16 October 1992.
facade, featuring Donnybrook stone
(a sandstone), including large paired Ionic columns, rising above an arcade lined with Mahogany Creek
Granite facing. At the time of its opening, the building was considered to be "by far the most ornate structure in the city".
The interior of the General Post Office was similarly well-finished, with jarrah
features throughout. An estimated 600,000 jarrah blocks were used in the herringbone-pattern flooring. The ground floor is fronted by a large colonnade
along its entire width. The main postal hall was two storeys high, with balconies
from the first floor above. The postal hall also featured a frosted glass roof, above which a lightwell
reached to the top of the building.
The basement of the General Post Office accommodated vaults
and was also used for the handling of bulk parcels. The first floor served as the Mail Room, while the second floor housed executive offices. The third floor housed the State Engineer in addition to the managers and operators of the telephone and telegraph systems. The telegraph operating room was connected to the ground floor by pneumatic tube
s. The fourth and fifth floors of the building were originally home to the Taxation Department
, and the sixth floor was home to miscellaneous other Federal departments, as well as providing accommodation for Federal Members of Parliament. On the seventh floor was a staff dining room and rest areas.
The General Post Office is founded on 1,525 piles
in groups of 25, each pile 30 feet (9.1 m) long and 14 inches (35.6 cm) in diameter. The building featured four passenger lifts
and two goods lifts. The building is constructed by a concrete-encased steel frame, faced with stone and brick. The brick walls did not receive a particularly favourable reception upon the building's opening:
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. Located on the western side of Forrest Place
Forrest Place
Forrest Place is a pedestrianised square located within the CBD of Perth, Western Australia. The street was created in 1923, and has a history of being a focal point for significant political meetings and demonstrations.-History:...
in the city's central business district
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
, its imposing stone facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
is in the Beaux-Arts style. The building was completed in 1923 after almost a decade of construction, which was protracted by World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the resulting shortages of construction materials. At the time of its opening, it was the largest building in Perth.
Previous postal services
In the first year of the colonySwan River Colony
The Swan River Colony was a British settlement established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. The name was a pars pro toto for Western Australia. In 1832, the colony was officially renamed Western Australia, when the colony's founding Lieutenant-Governor, Captain James Stirling,...
, the harbourmaster
Harbourmaster
A harbourmaster is an official responsible for enforcing the regulations of a particular harbour or port, in order to ensure the safety of navigation, the security of the harbour and the correct operation of the port facilities.-Responsibilities:Harbourmasters are normally responsible for issuing...
was appointed to perform the postal services for the colony. A General Post Office was proclaimed in St Georges Terrace
St Georges Terrace, Perth
St Georges Terrace is the main street in the city of Perth, Western Australia. It runs parallel to the Swan River and forms the major arterial road through the central business district....
in 1835, and in 1841 a Postmaster General
Postmaster-General's Department
The Postmaster-General's Department was created at Federation in 1901 to control all postal services within Australia. Its minister was the Postmaster-General. In mid-1975 it was disaggregated into the Australian Telecommunications Commission and the Australian Postal Commission...
was appointed. The colonial Posts and Telegraph Department took over control of Perth's telegraph services in 1871, and telephone services in 1889. The Perth General Post Office was relocated to St Georges Terrace between 1887 and 1890, however by 1910 this accommodation was inadequate for the services provided. In 1900 there were 175 post offices across Western Australia, together with 160 telephone exchanges. The Commonwealth
Government of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...
took over control of postal and telecommunication services at Federation
Federation of Australia
The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...
in 1901.
Construction
On 28 November 1911, the Commonwealth Government bought 1.2 hectares (129,166.9 sq ft) of land across Wellington StreetWellington Street, Perth
Wellington Street is the northernmost of the four primary east-west streets in the central business district of Perth, Western Australia. It contains several of Perth's key facilities, including the new Harbour Town shopping development, the Wellington Street Bus Station and the Perth railway...
from the Perth railway station
Perth railway station
Perth Station including Perth Underground is the largest railway station in Perth, Western Australia, and functions as an interchange between the Transperth Trains Armadale / Thornlie, Fremantle, Joondalup, Mandurah and Midland railway lines, as well as the Transwa Australind.-History:The Victorian...
. This land stretched to Murray Street
Murray Street, Perth
Murray Street is one of four main east-west roads within the Perth central business district.The street, the central portion of which has become a pedestrian mall, was named after Sir George Murray, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies from 1828 to 1830.It is the one main road in Perth that...
and featured an "unhealthy" shopping arcade named Central Arcade. The land was to be used as a Commonwealth Government precinct, allowing the Commonwealth departments to move out of the cramped Treasury Buildings at the corner of St Georges Terrace and Barrack Street, which it shared with the State Government
Government of Western Australia
The formation of the Government of Western Australia is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1890, although it has been amended many times since then...
. A proposal was made in 1912 for a 66 feet (20.1 m) wide street through the site featuring a new General Post Office building.
State Principal Architect Hillson Beasley visited Melbourne, where he worked with Commonwealth Architect John Smith Murdoch
John Smith Murdoch
John Smith Murdoch was the chief architect for the Commonwealth of Australia from 1919, responsible for designing many government buildings, most notably the Provisional Parliament House in Canberra, the home of the Parliament of Australia from 1927 to 1988.-Personal Life:John Smith Murdoch was...
to design the new General Post Office building. Architectural plans were drawn up and the construction contract with C. W. Arnott signed on 7 July 1914 at a cost of £
Australian pound
The pound was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 13 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. It was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence.- Earlier Australian currencies :...
232,700. These original plans provided for five storey
Storey
A storey or story is any level part of a building that could be used by people...
s above ground level, in addition to a basement.
Construction commenced in mid-1914, and initially experienced a delay due to sandy soil on the site. The foundation stone was laid by Minister for Home Affairs W. O. Archibald on 8 October 1915. The subsequent outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
led to a significant delay in the building's construction. The steel to be used in the construction became subject to an embargo by the British Government in 1916. An alternative supply was finally sourced from Broken Hill Proprietary in 1920. Construction was later delayed due to a six-month engineers' strike. The flooring and fittings were originally to be Australian blackwood, however Murdoch substituted jarrah which could be locally sourced.
W. B. Hardwick succeeded Beasley as the State's Principal Architect in 1916, and oversaw the project from that point until its completion. Although the end date given in the construction contract was October 1917, the building was not nearing completion and this term in the contract was waived. Over the course of construction, the design of the building had been modified several times, largely in an effort to reduce costs. In 1921 it was resolved to add a further two storeys to the top of the building for use by other Commonwealth departments. These additional storeys were to be walled with brickwork, rather than the stone used to clad the rest of the building's facade. However, the side and rear walls of the building were also of brick, and so the brick attic storey
Loft
A loft can be an upper story or attic in a building, directly under the roof. Alternatively, a loft apartment refers to large adaptable open space, often converted for residential use from some other use, often light industrial...
"tied in" with these treatments.
The General Post Office was officially opened on 26 September 1923 after around nine years of protracted construction, at a total cost of £400,000.
The new street in front of the building was ceremonially opened on the same day, and named "Forrest Place" in honour of the late Sir John Forrest
John Forrest
Sir John Forrest GCMG was an Australian explorer, the first Premier of Western Australia and a cabinet minister in Australia's first federal parliament....
, Western Australia's first Premier
Premier of Western Australia
The Premier of Western Australia is the head of the executive government in the Australian State of Western Australia. The Premier has similar functions in Western Australia to those performed by the Prime Minister of Australia at the national level, subject to the different Constitutions...
. At its opening, the new General Post Office was Perth's largest building, and it has been said that its imposing design proclaimed "the might of the new Commonwealth".
Subsequent history
The Commonwealth precinct expanded with subsequent construction of the Commonwealth Bank of AustraliaCommonwealth Bank of Australia
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is a multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Fiji, Asia, USA and the United Kingdom. Commonwealth Bank provides a variety of financial services including retail, business and institutional banking, funds management, superannuation, insurance,...
building immediately south of the General Post Office. It was officially opened on 22 March 1933 by Sir Robert Gibson
Robert Gibson (businessman)
Sir Robert Gibson, GBE, was a Scottish-born Australian businessman, a president of the Associated Chambers of Manufactures of Australia.-Early life:...
. It was designed in a similar style to the General Post Office by the architectural staff of the bank, and built by A. Douglas for a tender price of £207,000. The building featured cornice lines and columns of the same style as the General Post Office. Another similarly-styled Commonwealth department was planned for the General Post Office's northern side; this was not constructed for many decades, and did not emulate the design of the General Post Office.
Forrest Place was closed to traffic in the late 1980s as part of the Forrest Chase
Forrest Chase
Forrest Chase is a major shopping centre in Forrest Place located in Perth, Western Australia.-Transport:As the centre connects with major pedestrian malls there is no direct vehicular transport to the location. However, the area is well serviced by bus links along St Georges Terrace, as well as...
development. The Padbury Buildings on the eastern side of Forrest Place, which had been constructed in 1925, were demolished, and the newly-created pedestrian mall featured basement parking and loading docks for the General Post Office. The widening of Forrest Place has effectively created a town square
Town square
A town square is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings. Other names for town square are civic center, city square, urban square, market square, public square, and town green.Most town squares are hardscapes suitable for open markets,...
dominated by the General Post Office building.
The General Post Office was recognised for its heritage value by interim listing on the Western Australian Register of Heritage Places on 22 June 1992; it received a permanent entry on the Register on 16 October 1992.
Design
The architecture of the General Post Office building has been referred to as High Edwardian Classical and a "free treatment of the Greek Renaissance". It features a neo-classicalNeoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
facade, featuring Donnybrook stone
Donnybrook stone
Donnybrook stone is a fine to medium-grained feldspathic and kaolinitic sandstone found near the town of Donnybrook, Western Australia. It originates from the early Cretaceous and features shale partings and colour variations which range from white to beige and pink.Donnybrook stone is used as...
(a sandstone), including large paired Ionic columns, rising above an arcade lined with Mahogany Creek
Mahogany Creek, Western Australia
Mahogany Creek is a suburb in the shire of Mundaring, Western Australia.Its name is derived from the historic Mahogany Creek Inn, constructed in about 1880, and situated on what was the York Road, now known as the Great Eastern Highway...
Granite facing. At the time of its opening, the building was considered to be "by far the most ornate structure in the city".
The interior of the General Post Office was similarly well-finished, with jarrah
Jarrah
Eucalyptus marginata is one of the most common species of Eucalyptus tree in the southwest of Western Australia. The tree and the wood are usually referred to by the Aboriginal name Jarrah...
features throughout. An estimated 600,000 jarrah blocks were used in the herringbone-pattern flooring. The ground floor is fronted by a large colonnade
Colonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade denotes a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building....
along its entire width. The main postal hall was two storeys high, with balconies
Balcony
Balcony , a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade.-Types:The traditional Maltese balcony is a wooden closed balcony projecting from a...
from the first floor above. The postal hall also featured a frosted glass roof, above which a lightwell
Lightwell
In architecture a lightwell, light well or air shaft is an unroofed external space provided within the volume of a large building to allow light and air to reach what would otherwise be dark or unventilated area...
reached to the top of the building.
The basement of the General Post Office accommodated vaults
Bank vault
A bank vault is a secure space where money, valuables, records, and documents can be stored. It is intended to protect their contents from theft, unauthorized use, fire, natural disasters, and other threats, just like a safe...
and was also used for the handling of bulk parcels. The first floor served as the Mail Room, while the second floor housed executive offices. The third floor housed the State Engineer in addition to the managers and operators of the telephone and telegraph systems. The telegraph operating room was connected to the ground floor by pneumatic tube
Pneumatic tube
Pneumatic tubes are systems in which cylindrical containers are propelled through a network of tubes by compressed air or by partial vacuum...
s. The fourth and fifth floors of the building were originally home to the Taxation Department
Australian Taxation Office
The Australian Taxation Office is an Australian Government statutory agency and the principal revenue collection body for the Australian Government. The ATO has responsibility for administering the Australian federal taxation system and superannuation legislation...
, and the sixth floor was home to miscellaneous other Federal departments, as well as providing accommodation for Federal Members of Parliament. On the seventh floor was a staff dining room and rest areas.
The General Post Office is founded on 1,525 piles
Deep foundation
A deep foundation is a type of foundation distinguished from shallow foundations by the depth they are embedded into the ground. There are many reasons a geotechnical engineer would recommend a deep foundation over a shallow foundation, but some of the common reasons are very large design loads, a...
in groups of 25, each pile 30 feet (9.1 m) long and 14 inches (35.6 cm) in diameter. The building featured four passenger lifts
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
and two goods lifts. The building is constructed by a concrete-encased steel frame, faced with stone and brick. The brick walls did not receive a particularly favourable reception upon the building's opening:
External links
- Heritage Council of Western Australia — Places Database entry for the General Post Office
External links - online photographs
-
- Images of the GPO from various photo collections held by Battye Library
- http://www.slwa.wa.gov.au/images/pd095/095,660PD.jpg
- http://www.slwa.wa.gov.au/images/wepon/architecture/004023d.jpg
- http://www.slwa.wa.gov.au/images/pd095/095,471PD.jpg
- http://www.slwa.wa.gov.au/images/pd095/095,474PD.jpg