YOUR CITY

One of Brisbane’s oldest buildings, the General Post Office, celebrated its 150th birthday on September 28, but it hasn’t all been clear sailing.

The city landmark was built on the site of the female factory – a prison for female convicts who had to be kept isolated from the lecherous male prisoners and officers of the main Moreton Bay convict settlement.

It was partially demolished to make way for the elegant Italianate building which opened in 1872 at a cost of £7450 after years of lobbying.

To set the scene, the Moreton Bay settlement became known as Brisbane in 1839 and was only opened to free settlers in 1842.

The first letter carrier was appointed in 1852 and until separation in 1859, postal services were managed out of Sydney. The first Queensland postage stamp issued was in 1860.

Brisbane’s first fulltime PostmasterGeneral, John Edward Barney, was appointed in 1852 and on his death three years later, was succeeded by his wife Elise, who became the first post mistress.

After years of campaigning, it was finally agreed that Brisbane should have its own General Post Office.

The building was designed by the colonial architect F.G.D. Stanley (a busy chap given the number of grand old buildings still standing in his name) and built by Brisbane’s first mayor John Petrie.

Freestone came from Murphy’s Creek near Toowoomba, and the Albion Heights quarry and the elegant iron lacework balustrading on the second floor was made at R.R. Smellie’s Alice St foundry.

The post office opened in 1872 and in 1877, work began on the 15.2m high central tower with a matching building, a mirror image, on the other side for the Telegraph Office.

By now, the postal service and telegraph departments had merged and the Queen St site had become central while the Telegraph Office in William Street, was considered out of the way.

It was a happy day for customers when it opened beside the post office in 1879.

A clock with a 1.4m dial was built into the front pediment of the post office and illuminated by gaslight at night but plans for a more elaborate 33m clocktower between the buildings had to be shelved as the cost was prohibitive for a small town of 15,000.

Although a classical building, Stanley had kept the climate in mind. There wouldn’t be electric fans until the 1890s, so to beat the heat, there were wide verandas, a 3m colonnade to protect from heat and rain, and high ceilings – 5.4m on the lower floor and 5.1m on the upper.

The beautiful old building has also been home to some firsts.

In 1887, it was one of the first buildings in Brisbane to be powered by electricity and in 1892, three Ideal Hammond typewriters arrived at the Telegraph Office.

It was the first time a typewriter was used as a business tool in Australia and a move which the other colonies soon copied.

Within, is the historically significant Queensland Postal Honour Board for World War I.

There was a plan in the late 1890s to demolish the buildings entirely, the idea advancing as far as a new building design competition being held.

In the end, the original was retained, upgraded and extended, including construction of the Elizabeth Street building in 1908.

Other calls down the decades to knock it all down and start again ended in 1953.

The GPO was cleaned up for the Royal visit by Queen Elizabeth and then its enduring magnificence was recognised and appreciated.

Today, the Brisbane GPO comprises five interconnected buildings, all built at different times.

Still a city landmark, it is on both the Commonwealth Heritage List and the National Trust register.

Above left: The elegant GPO building, pictured in 1931, has dominated Queen St for 150 years. Above: Mail carriers in 1936. Below: Inside the postal hall in 1912.

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