The General Post Office (GPO) in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia, is a

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and human-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In ma ...

building located at 261 Queen Street. Originally constructed in 1872, it was extended through to Elizabeth Street in 1908. The GPO remains in use by the

Australia Post Australia Post, formally the Australian Postal Corporation and also known as AusPost, is an Australian Government-State-owned enterprise, owned corporation that provides postal services throughout Australia. Australia Post's head office is loca ...

today. Opposite the GPO is the Post Office Square.

History

The first full-time postmaster in Brisbane was J. E. Barney, appointed in 1852. In 1862, Thomas Lodge Murray Prior became the first Postmaster-General for the state of Queensland. Initially, postal services operated from a small convict-era building, which was inconveniently distant from the telegraph office. The Postmaster-General selected a centrally located half-hectare site for the new post office. The building previously located at the Queen Street site, which once housed women convicts, was demolished in 1871. Freestone and bricks were sourced locally for the construction. The GPO officially opened on 28 September 1872. In 1873, the

Queensland Museum The Queensland Museum Kurilpa is the state museum of Queensland, funded by the government, and dedicated to natural history, cultural heritage, science and human achievement. The museum currently operates from its headquarters and general museu ...

was housed in the General Post Office building until it moved to the William Street building in 1879. That same year, a second wing constructed by

John Petrie John Petrie (15 January 1822 – 8 December 1892) was a Scottish-born Australian politician, architect, stonemason and building contractor in Brisbane who became the city's first Mayor. Private life John Petrie was born 15 January 1822Too ...

was completed, allowing the telegraph office to relocate to the GPO, much to the satisfaction of business customers The building features deep verandahs and high ceilings. A clock mounted in the pediment above the main entrance was once illuminated by a gas-powered light, later replaced by a smaller electric clock. In 1892, the first

typewriter A typewriter is a Machine, mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of Button (control), keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an i ...

used in any Australian post office was introduced at the GPO. Stamps and money orders were once available to customers through windows outside the building, which are now closed. The building has been listed on the

Brisbane City Council Heritage Register The Brisbane Heritage Register is a heritage register containing a list of culturally-significant places within the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mai ...

Gallery

Image:Brisbane_CBD.jpg, View of the ANZAC Square, Post Office Square, and the General Post Office, as seen from the Sofitel Hotel. Image:Central-Station-and-Anzac-Square-from-Brisbane-GPO.jpg, View from Brisbane GPO - showing the Post Office Square, Sofitel Hotel, and

Central Station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

File:Post Office Square and General Post Office in the background, Brisbane, February 2020.jpg , General Post Office, Brisbane, as seen from the Post Office Square. Image:GPO-sunshine.jpg, General Post Office, as seen from the Post Office Square.

References

External links

Further historical details

{{coord, display=title, -27.468174, 153.028173, type:landmark_region:AU

Buildings and structures in Brisbane Government buildings completed in 1872 1872 establishments in Australia Commonwealth Heritage List places in Queensland Italianate architecture in Brisbane Neoclassical architecture in Australia Brisbane Local Heritage Register Brisbane central business district Francis Drummond Greville Stanley buildings Queen Street, Brisbane

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links