General Post Office, Perth facts for kids
Quick facts for kids General Post Office |
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The General Post Office building in Perth, Western Australia
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| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Type | Post office |
| Architectural style | Beaux-Arts |
| Location | Western Australia |
| Address | 3 Forrest Place, Perth |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | 31°57′08″S 115°51′32″E / 31.9522°S 115.8590°E |
| Current tenants |
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| Construction started | 1914 |
| Completed | 1923 |
| Owner | Australia Post |
| Technical details | |
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| Design and construction | |
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| Designations | Commonwealth Heritage List & State Register of Heritage Places |
| Official name | Perth General Post Office |
| Type | Listed place (Historic) |
| Designated | 22 June 2004 |
| Reference no. | 105527 |
| Type | State Registered Place |
| Designated | 16 October 1992 |
| Reference no. | 1979 |
The General Post Office in Perth, Western Australia, is a very old and special building. It stands on the western side of Forrest Place in the city's main business area. Its grand stone front has a special design style called Beaux-Arts. The building was finished in 1923, after almost ten years of construction. Building took a long time because of World War I and a lack of building materials. When it first opened, it was the biggest building in Perth.
For many years, it was Perth's main post office. But Australia Post moved out on 22 July 2016. A large clothing store called H&M opened in its place in March 2017.
Contents
A Look Back: The History of Perth's Post Office
Early Mail Services in Perth
When the Swan River Colony was first settled, the person in charge of the harbour also handled the mail. In 1835, a General Post Office was set up on St Georges Terrace. By 1841, a main mail manager, called a Postmaster General, was chosen.
Later, a local government department took over mail and telegraph services in 1871. They also started managing telephone services in 1889. The Perth General Post Office moved to St Georges Terrace between 1887 and 1890. However, by 1910, this building was too small for all the services. In 1900, Western Australia had 175 post offices and 160 telephone exchanges. When Australia became a country in 1901, the national government took over all postal and telecommunication services.
Building the Grand Post Office
On 28 November 1911, the national government bought a large piece of land. It was across Wellington Street from the Perth railway station. This land was meant to be a special area for government offices. It would allow government departments to move out of the crowded Treasury Buildings.
Hillson Beasley, a main architect for Western Australia, visited Melbourne. There, he worked with national architect John Smith Murdoch to design the new General Post Office. Building plans were drawn up, and a contract was signed on 7 July 1914. The original plans showed a five-story building with a basement.
Construction started in mid-1914. It faced an early delay because of sandy soil. The first stone was laid on 8 October 1915. Then, World War I caused big problems. Steel needed for the building was held back by the British Government in 1916. Finally, steel was found from Broken Hill Proprietary in 1920. Building was also delayed by a six-month strike by engineers. The original plans for flooring were changed to use jarrah wood, which could be found locally.
William Hardwick took over as the main architect in 1917. He managed the project until it was finished. The building was supposed to be done by October 1917, but it was far from ready. The design was changed several times to save money. In 1921, they decided to add two more floors for other government departments. These top floors were built with brick, matching the side and back walls.
The General Post Office officially opened on 26 September 1923. It took about nine years to build and cost £400,000.
The new street in front of the building also opened that day. It was named "Forrest Place" after Sir John Forrest, Western Australia's first Premier. When it opened, the new General Post Office was Perth's biggest building. Its grand design showed the strength of the new Australian nation.
Federal lawmakers now in Perth agree that the new G.P.O. is as grand and impressive as the Commonwealth Bank in Sydney. It is one of the most beautiful Federal buildings in Australia.
—The West Australian, 26 September 1923, p. 10
What Happened Next
The government area grew with a new Commonwealth Bank of Australia building. It was built right next to the General Post Office. It opened on 22 March 1933. This bank building was designed in a similar style to the Post Office.
In the late 1980s, Forrest Place was closed to cars. This was part of the Forrest Chase development. Old buildings on the east side of Forrest Place were taken down. The new pedestrian area had underground parking and loading docks for the Post Office. Making Forrest Place wider turned it into a large town square with the General Post Office as its main feature.
On 22 June 1992, the General Post Office was recognized as a special heritage site. It was added to the State Register of Heritage Places on 16 October 1992.
Perth GPO is a great example of a grand public building. It is important because it is a rare large building in Australia built in the Beaux-Arts style.
—Western Australian Register of Heritage Places – Statement of Significance
After many years as Perth's main post office, Australia Post moved out on 22 July 2016. A clothing store called H&M opened there in March 2017. Australia Post later opened a new main post office at the Perth railway station on 19 December 2016.
Architectural Design and Features
The General Post Office building's design is called High Edwardian Classical. It is also described as a "free treatment of the Greek Renaissance." It has a neo-classical front. This front uses Donnybrook stone (a type of sandstone) and large paired Ionic columns. These columns rise above an arcade lined with Mahogany Creek Granite. When it opened, the building was thought to be "by far the most decorated building in the city."
We have no building like this one that we can compare it to; even the quality of the brickwork is better than any other brickwork in Western Australia ... this building will be made mostly from local materials. The granite is the best I have ever seen.
—John Smith Murdoch, at the 1921 Parliamentary Standing Committee enquiry
The inside of the General Post Office was also beautifully finished. It had jarrah wood features throughout. About 600,000 jarrah blocks were used for the herringbone-pattern flooring. The ground floor has a large colonnade (a row of columns) along its entire width. The main postal hall was two stories high, with balconies on the first floor. This hall also had a frosted glass roof, with a lightwell reaching to the top of the building.
The basement of the General Post Office had vaults and was used for handling large packages. The first floor was the Mail Room. Executive offices were on the second floor. The third floor housed the State Engineer and managers of the telephone and telegraph systems. The telegraph room was connected to the ground floor by pneumatic tubes (tubes that use air pressure to send things). The fourth and fifth floors were originally home to the Taxation Department. The sixth floor had other national government departments and rooms for Members of Parliament. On the seventh floor, there was a dining room and rest areas for staff.
The General Post Office stands on 1,525 deep piles. These piles are 30 feet (9 meters) long and 14 inches (36 cm) wide. The building has four passenger lifts and two goods lifts. It is built with a steel frame covered in concrete, then faced with stone and brick. The brick walls on the sides and back were not very popular when the building opened:
As for the brick sides and rear of the G.P.O., they might be mistaken for the walls of a factory by anyone who had not seen the front and read, above the Ionic columns, the words "Commonwealth of Australia."
—The West Australian, 26 September 1923, p. 10
Images for kids
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The General Post Office building in Perth, Western Australia
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The Old Treasury Building in Perth, where the General Post Office used to be.
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The General Post Office around 1929, seen from the Perth railway station.
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The Australia Post shop inside the General Post Office before it closed in 2016.
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The General Post Office decorated for Christmas.
