Midland Post Office entered on heritage register

26/8/95

A feature of the historic civic precinct in the heart of Midland has been permanently listed on the State Register of Heritage Places.

Heritage Minister Richard Lewis said today that the Midland Post Office, built in 1913, would be preserved as an outstanding example of civic architecture of the era.

"Situated on the corner of Helena Street and Great Eastern Highway, the post office is an important part of the streetscape of the town centre," Mr Lewis said.

The Minister said the building had an unusual history, in that it replaced a post office built only 16 years earlier.

"Between 1895 and 1897 the population of Midland Junction doubled and four years later, when the Government Railway Workshops were transferred to the area, the population neared 1,800," he said.

"The original two-storey brick post office built on the existing site in 1897 did not impress the locals.

"One newspaper, The Swan Express, described the building as a 'dog kennel' and 'utterly unsuitable'."

After the opening of the railway workshops a number of prominent public buildings were constructed in the area, including the Council Chambers and Town Hall (1906), Court House (1910), Carnegie Library (1912) and then in 1913, the present Midland Post Office was built.

The post office was designed by Hillson Beasley, a former principal Government architect, who also designed the Art Gallery of Western Australia (1906), the James Street Public Library (1911) and the Fremantle and Perth Post Offices (1906 and 1914 respectively).

The Minister said the construction cost of nearly £5,000 made it one of the most expensive of the many post offices built in Western Australia between 1904 and the end of the First World War.

"A two-storey building in plain red brick, the Midland Post Office was constructed in Federation Free Style, and is representative of the development of telecommunication services in WA," he said.

"It also demonstrates the growth of railway and industrial centres in the early part of the century and is a rare example of civic Government buildings constructed in large regional centres."

Media contact: Bronwyn Hillman 222 9595, 221 1377