Address 9 Elizabeth St Cost £30,000-£35,000 Opened 1905 Groundbreaking 1901 | Country Australia Owner Australia Post Town or city Hobart Architect Alan Cameron Walker | |
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Architectural style Edwardian Baroque architecture Similar NAB House, Trafalgar Building - Hobart, 10 Murray Street, Franklin Square, Hope and Anchor Tavern | ||
Hobart General Post Office (Hobart GPO) is a landmark building located on the corner of Elizabeth Street and Macquarie Street in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. 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 since 2004.
History
The GPO was constructed in 1905, designed by prominent local architect Alan Cameron Walker in Edwardian Baroque style at a cost of £30,000-£35,000. Its foundation stone had been laid in 1901 by HRH the Duke of Cornwall and York, the future King George V. The Commonwealth government however refused to fund the post office tower and bells, the federal government criticising the state for the building of the post office, calling it 'enormous and unnecessary'. ₤1,465 was raised by public subscription to build them; it was named the Queen Victoria Clock Tower and opened on 22 June 1906, a year after the rest of the building.
In 1912 Roald Amundsen posted his telegram to the King of Norway from Hobart GPO to announce the first successful trip to the South Pole.
In June 2015 while the GPO was undergoing restoration, vandals climbed scaffolding on the tower and graffitied and damaged the GPO clock. Repair was possible however.