Fmr Hamelin Pool Post & Telegraph Station

Statement of Significance

The Former Hamelin Pool Post and Telegraph Station has high historic significance for its association with early communications in both the district and the state. Not only did it provide a valuable link between the north and south of the state, it assisted with communications between Western Australia and Great Britain. As a precinct, the group of buildings and relics make an important contribution to providing a better understanding of the development of the Shark Bay district, with each place enhancing the significance of the others. The former Telegraph Station is representative of the type of building in that era, given its simple style, small scale and use of construction materials.

Physical Description

The former Hamelin Pool Post and Telegraph Station is situated in a small precinct which also includes the former Post Master's Quarters (Place No. 18), harness shed, and several other more recently constructed buildings. Nearby is also a grave (Place No. 19), flagpole (Place No. 20) and a shell quarry (Place No. 21). FMR HAMELIN POOL POST AND TELEGRAPH STATION: The building is a timber framed building clad with vertical corrugated iron. Consisting of two original rooms, the place has a hipped corrugated iron roof which extends to cover verandahs to three sides. The verandahs have been enclosed with fibro, louvre windows and shade cloth to provide for more living/working space and also to combat the heat. The building, which is supported on piers of local rock, has timber framed casement windows with three panes. The interior has timber lining to the walls and ceilings. There are rainwater tanks to both sides of the building. Immediately to the north are the shell block foundations of the Linesman's Quarters, removed in c.1962. HARNESS SHED (or Camel Stables): is a small, simple timber framed building located to the south of the Telegraph Station. The structure is clad with corrugated iron, both horizontally and vertically placed. The building has a hipped corrugated iron roof. There is a large opening and a skillion roof attached to the north elevation, with a lean-to roof at the rear. The building, which is in fair condition, is currently used as a garage and for storage purposes.

History

The extension of the coastal telegraph line from Northampton to Roebourne was approved in 1881 to link up with a proposed submarine cable to India and from there to Great Britain. Constructed during the early 1880s, there were repeater stations approximately every 500 kilometres along the line. On 21 April, 1884 the Hamelin Pool Telegraph Station commenced operations at the southern end of Hamelin Pool. The place was also known as Flint Cliff after a prominent white cliff located 5 kilometres to the north which was used as a navigational guide. The Telegraph Station and simple quarters were designed by the Architectural Division of the Public Works Department, Architect-in-Charge, George Temple-Poole. Other services carried out at the Telegraph Station included recording weather and distributing mail. The Government settlement at Hamelin Pool was surveyed in August, 1891. In 1896 additions were made to the Telegraph Station and by 1897 the small settlement contained 8 separate buildings. Effective from 1 July, 1904 the Telegraph Station became a Post and Telegraph Office, although it had carried out postal services unofficially from its early days. Also in 1904-05 telegraph equipment was upgraded to transmit 300 miles instead of the 150 miles previously. Consequently every second station was dropped out and Hamelin Pool then remitted direct to Carnarvon. The intermediate station at Wooramel was closed and the Post Master's Quarters was transported to Hamelin Pool where it was re-erected to the north-west of the Telegraph Station (Place No. 18). In 1914 the further emergence of new technology took away the need for Hamelin Pool as a repeater station on the main line, however the service to Shark Bay, which was established in 1892-93, was maintained. In 1926 the telegraph station commenced operations as a telephone exchange, serving one subscriber and one public telephone. In 1952 the old coastal telegraph line was replaced by a new communication channel via Mullewa and Gascoyne Junction to Carnarvon, by-passing Hamelin Pool. On 11 May, 1953 the status of the post office was reduced to non official/non money order without the Bank agency which had previously operated there. The small telephone exchange continued to serve a handful of subscribers. The Linesman's Quarters, :ited to the north of the Telegraph Station, was removed in c.1962 to Woodleigh Station for use as a Cook's House. The Hamelin Pool line station closed on 29 November, 1963, however the post office continued to operate until July, 1971. In the early 1970s the Post Office building was adapted for use as a residence, with work undertaken including a kitchen and verandah enclosures. Other construction at the site included a shed, shade house, engine room and toilet block. The building suffered damage by Cyclone Mavis in 1971 and Cyclone Hazel in 1979, with half of the roof having to be replaced. On 6 July, 1971 the status of the settlement was reduced to that of telephone office and in 1977 the telephone office's connection was discontinued. The building currently operates as a museum. (Sources: Moynihan, J.F., "The Hamelin Pool Telegraph Station", Telecom Australia, Perth, 1994; Oldham, R. & J., "George Temple-Poole"; "Government Gazette", 1896, p1446; Max Hipkins & Associates, "Survey of the Built Environment of Shark Bay", Department of Planning & Urban Development, 1991, pp34-39)

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: High Degree

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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