General Post Office, Hobart. Tasmania, Australia 1923
By Remembering the Past Australia / August 12, 2020 / Australia / 0 Comments
Place:
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Date:
1923
Historical Information:
This image is part of the Colonial Office photographic collection held at The National Archives UK.
The Hobart General Post Office (GPO) was constructed between 1901 and 1905 on the site known as ‘Lords Corner’ at the north corner of Elizabeth and Macquarie Street.
An architectural competition for the design of a new GPO was announced on 20 June 1899 and attracted nine entries. Local architect Alan Cameron Walker was declared the winner for his design of an Edwardian Baroque style at a cost of £30,000-£35,000. On 6 July 1901, the visiting Duke and Duchess of York (later King George V 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 are made by Taylor and Sons in Leicestershire, England.
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.
Description:
Showing the Hobart General Post Office, Hobart. Tasmania, Australia. Original photo taken in 1923.
From the collection of:
