General Post Office (abbreviation GPO, commonly known as the Hobart GPO) is a landmark building located on the corner of Elizabeth Street and Macquarie Street in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It stands next to the former Mercury Building and has served as the headquarters of the Tasmanian Postal system since its construction in 1905, though mail processing has now been moved to Glenorchy. It has been listed on the

Commonwealth Heritage List The Commonwealth Heritage List is a heritage register established in 2003, which lists places under the control of the Australian government, on land or in waters directly owned by the Crown (in Australia, the Crown in right of the Commonwealth ...

since 2004.

History

The Hobart General Post Office (GPO) was constructed between 1901 and 1905 on the site known as ‘Lords Corner’ at the north corner Elizabeth and Macquarie Street. The government had acquired the site in 1892, it being diagonally opposite Franklin Square, a town square laid out by the NSW Governor Macquarie in 1811, who intended it to be surrounded by a church and courthouse or town hall and main guard building. By 1894, public buildings including the town hall, the supreme court and public offices, both facing Macquarie Street, flanked the square, which was planted as a public park. An architectural competition for the design of a new GPO was announced on 20 June 1899 and attracted nine entries, and an

Edwardian Baroque Edwardian architecture is a Neo-Baroque architectural style that was popular in the British Empire during the Edwardian era (1901–1910). Architecture up to the year 1914 may also be included in this style. Description Edwardian architecture is ...

style at a cost of £30,000-£35,000 design by a local architect

Alan Cameron Walker Alan Cameron Walker (1865–1931) was an Australians, Australian architect and philanthropist, born in Hobart, Tasmania. The grandson of John Walker (Australian politician), John Walker, he was educated at Hutchins School and apprenticed to Henry ...

was declared the winner. On 6 July 1901, the visiting Duke and Duchess of York (later

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

and Queen Mary) laid the foundation stone. The Commonwealth government however refused to fund the post office tower and bells, calling them 'enormous and unnecessary'. The £1,465 to build them was raised by public subscription. It was named the Queen Victoria Clock Tower and opened on 22 June 1906, a year after the rest of the building. The clock was made by Fritz Ziegeler of Melbourne.It has the traditional Westminster chimes and is fitted with a Denison double three-legged gravity escapement with jewelled pallets and hardened legs. The bells were made by

John Taylor & Co John Taylor Bell Foundry (Loughborough) Limited, trading as John Taylor & Co and commonly known as Taylor's Bell Foundry, Taylor's of Loughborough, or simply Taylor's, is the world's largest working bell foundry. It is located in Loughborough, ...

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second larg ...

, England. Fritz Ziegeler made many clocks in Tasmania. His other public clock in Hobart is in the Palfreymans Building Corner Elizebeth and Burnett St, North Hobart, this was installed in 1919 and is a small timepiece. In 1912

Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Amundsen bega ...

posted his telegram to the King of Norway from Hobart GPO to announce the first successful trip to the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

. In June 2015 while the GPO was undergoing restoration, vandals climbed scaffolding on the tower, scrawled graffiti on it, and damaged the GPO clock. It was repaired.

References

{{Hobart landmarks Landmarks in Hobart Buildings and structures in Hobart Government buildings completed in 1905 Baroque Revival architecture Edwardian architecture in Australia

Tasmanian Heritage Register 1905 establishments in Australia