Claremont Post Office

Parent Place or Precinct

04033 Bay View Terrace Commercial Heritage Precinct

Statement of Significance

Bay View Terrace Heritage Area demonstrates the earliest and ongoing commercial heart of the Town of Claremont, represented by the form and fabric of most of the original buildings and later infill of a similar form. Bookended at the significant Claremont Hotel, and the Post Office historically located opposite the railway station, Bay View Terrace is the social and historic heart of retail Claremont

Physical Description

The single storey masonry building is located on the corner but does not address that situation. The original limestone block walls and later brick walls have all been painted. The gambrel-hipped roof is clad with clay tiles. The roof evidences exposed eaves and a simple face brick chimney. The original section of the frontage shows flat arched quoined window openings with sets of three casements with multi-paned fanlights above.

History

The Claremont Post and Telegraph Office were built in 1896 to a design by PWD Chief Architect George Temple Poole. The builder was A. Davenport with a tendered price of £1,190-4-0. The Post Office was a stone building with a shingle roof comprising a mail room, public office and operator's room, and two-room quarters for the postmaster. Claremont Post Office was opened 4 August 1896. In 1906, the entrance and public area were extended and the quarters enlarged with the addition of another four rooms. In 1914, the façade of the building was altered to feature a parapet over the main arched window and a Romanesque-style rounded portico over the entrance. Internal walls were altered to create a larger public space and the shingles were replaced with Marseille tiles. Later alterations included relocation of the entrance from the northwest to the southwest corner, various internal alterations and painting of the exterior stonework. When the roof was retiled in 1976 the decorative finials were not replaced. In 1982, the Post Office was saved from demolition and rebuilding by public protest. In 1984, a major extension and upgrade included an addition housing a new mail room and letterboxes located on the south side fronting the Terrace and set back from the footpath. In 1998, following changes to post office procedures that required less space, the 1984 addition was leased out and redeveloped for Dome Café. The original part of the building was again remodelled for its ongoing function as a post office.

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