Claremont Post Office
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| Claremont Post Office | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Bayview Terrace, Claremont, Western Australia, Australia |
| Coordinates | 31°58′53″S 115°46′54″E / 31.9813°S 115.7816°E |
| Official name | Claremont Post Office |
| Type | Listed place (Historic) |
| Designated | 22 June 2004 |
| Reference no. | 105526 |
| Type | State Registered Place |
| Designated | 22 December 2002 |
| Reference no. | 483 |
  Location of Claremont Post Office in Western Australia | |
Claremont Post Office is a heritage-listed post office at Bayview Terrace, Claremont, Western Australia, Australia. It was added to the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.[1]
In 1830, John Butler selected land in the Swan River Colony, including much of what subsequently became Peppermint Grove and Claremont. He developed a farm there and the area became known as Butler's Swamp. Initially the development of Claremont was from the farming activities undertaken by Butler and the fact that the area was a halfway point between Perth and Fremantle. A tree, on the Perth to Fremantle Road (now Stirling Highway) marked the halfway spot and was the site for the transfer of mail between Perth and Fremantle before the establishment of the Perth to Fremantle railway line in 1881. A posting box dated 1868 and only recently decommissioned, still marks the halfway spot in Stirling Highway. Following the opening of the railway the post was carried by train. In September 1883, a Postmistress was appointed. She operated from McMullens store in Gugeri Street between the present Post Office and Butler's Siding. With the opening of the railway the population of Claremont began to grow. Subdivisions in Claremont in the 1880s were mostly by investors, few of whom built on the land. These subdivisions provided land to a growing number of civil servants and other prominent members of the community who could commute readily to Perth by rail. According to Gregory, Claremont increasingly attracted a different class of people from that of the small upper class who had originally settled in Claremont to pursue farming activities.[1]
In 1886 the building of a new Claremont railway station and Stationmaster's House, at the termination of what was to become Bay View Terrace, to accommodate increased traffic, confirmed the importance of the area near the line and set the pattern for the modern development of the Claremont town centre between the railway line and the Perth to Fremantle Road (Stirling Highway). In 1886, the Postmistress office moved closer to the railway and, by November 1888, was operating out of the store next to the Inn built on the western corner of Gugeri Street and Bay View Terrace, the site of the present Claremont Hotel (1888). A more intensive phase of subdivision of Claremont began in the 1890s with the expansion of population following gold discoveries. Amenities available in Claremont were attractive and, combined with easy access to transport to the city via the train, as well as the social image of Claremont, attracted new residents to the area. There were numerous subdivisions in the 1890s, with considerable building activity undertaken. The size of these lots were smaller than those of the 1880s, enabling people to move into the area in increased numbers.[1]
In 1896, Claremont Post Office, incorporating a Telegraph Office and commodious Postmaster's residential quarters, was built, thus confirming Claremont's importance in the infrastructure of the postal service. It was built to the design of George Temple Poole of the Public Works Department, who was also a Claremont resident. The building was of rusticated stone and domestic in scale with picturesque asymmetrical massing and a shingled roof. It was a robust building but sympathetic to the style of the earlier Stationmaster's House (1886) opposite, which Poole had also designed. The tender for Claremont Post Office was let on 24 January 1896 to A. Davenport for 1,190 pounds with a condition that the building was to be completed by 24 April 1896. However it was not until 4 August 1896 that Claremont Post Office was officially opened.[1]
George Temple Poole was an English born and trained architect and engineer who had arrived in Western Australia, in 1885, to take up the position of Superintendent of Public Works. Under various official titles, including Colonial Architect and Assistant Engineer-in-Chief, he headed the architectural section of the Public Works Department (PWD) from its infancy to its gold boom heyday in the 1890s. While he did not personally design and detail every building produced by the PWD in this period, the architectural character and building technology that was developed under his control owes much to his experience and vision. According to van Bremen, the level of Public Works design and construction established under Poole's direction set the standard for PWD construction up to World War One. Poole was also responsible for the design of the Railway Station and Stationmaster's House (1886) and the Police Station on Stirling Highway (1896, demolished).[1]
By 1900, the railway provided an access point for not only the residents of Claremont but also for those of Swanbourne, Graylands, Dalkeith and Nedlands. Claremont Post Office played an important part in the postal services available to the residents of these districts as it was convenient to the railway station. On 1 July 1911, Claremont Post Office was granted official Australia Post status as a major suburban post office. Claremont Post Office has continued to be used as a post office since 1896.[1]
The building was upgraded, in 1914, to a design by Hillson Beasley, the then Principal Architect of the PWD. Beasley's design changed the facade of the building considerably by emphasising its Romanesque features with a curved portico and also provided more room inside, with the demolition of some internal wall to accommodate a larger mail room and a bigger public area. The roof was also altered and the original shingles changed to Marseilles tiles. Since 1914, the building has been altered and extended, in the 1950s and the 1980s, to accommodate changing postal requirements and the residential accommodation has been taken over by postal functions, although the form of the rooms remains. Despite these changes, the external form of the 1914 building has changed little and continues to make a strong statement in the Claremont shopping area. In 1982, Australia Post proposed the demolition of Claremont Post Office. A public backlash ensued. A defence of Claremont Post Office was spearheaded by the Town Council, the Claremont Historical Society and a sympathetic local newspaper, the Claremont Nedlands Post. The debate lasted until early April 1983 when Australia Post said that it would retain the building and upgrade it to service modern postal requirements. The upgrading was finished in January 1985 at a cost of $265,000 and Claremont Post Office reopened on 29 January 1985.[1]
In the period 1998–99 further works were undertaken to the fabric and finishes of the post office which accommodates the Dome coffee tenancy in the southern section, the former mail room completed in 1985. Claremont Post Office continues to be used as a post office. In 1998 the building was repainted externally and internally in heritage colours. Externally the scheme featured Indian Red, Beige, and Regency White for timber work and gutters with timber door and window frames in Grey Green and Regency White. The use of York Stone on external rendered areas and masonry was continued internally for joinery with Regency White for other surfaces.[1]
