State Government heritage lists Claremont Post Office

25/6/02
A Claremont post office that has been operating for more than 100 years has been interim-listed by the State Government in Western Australia's Register of Heritage Places.
Environment and Heritage Minister Dr Judy Edwards said it was unusual for a late 19th century building to still be operating at the centre of Claremont's transport and communication services.
"Situated opposite the former Claremont Hotel and Claremont Railway Station and associated buildings, the Claremont Post Office continues to play an important role in the precinct of commercial and public buildings at the northern end of Bay View Terrace," Dr Edwards said.
"What is more, there continues to be strong community support for the building, which was evident in a 1982 public campaign to save the post office from demolition."
Dr Edwards said the single-storey, rock-faced, random coursed limestone and tile building was a well designed example of the Federation Arts and Crafts style often used by George Temple Poole - then chief architect of the Public Works Department.
"The post office was one of a number of Government buildings built in response to growing demand for public facilities following the 1890s gold boom," she said.
"Since then, the building has been closely associated with the evolution of postal services in the district and State."
For example, its location opposite the railway station represents the once important link between postal and rail services.
In addition, the existence of an attached residence represents a way of life when postmasters and their families lived at post offices.
Dr Edwards said the 1896 building was a far cry from the post service's humble beginnings.
"In the early 19th century, Claremont's first mail exchange was a 30m high Tuart tree located on the south side of Stirling Highway opposite Vaucluse Avenue," she said.
"Riders on horseback travelling the Perth-Fremantle road met at the Halfway Tree to exchange mail. In 1868, a post box was located at the tree, and mail was transferred by a horse-drawn mail van.
"When the tree died in the 1920s, a pillarbox was installed to commemorate Western Australia's earliest mail service."
It was not until the opening of the Claremont Railway Station in 1886, and the development of a commercial centre between the station and Stirling Highway, that the need for a new post office building was identified.
"In recent times, the centralisation of mail sorting has reduced the amount of space required by the post office, and an extension that had been built in 1984 was leased and refurbished in 1998," Dr Edwards said.
Today, part of the post office has been transformed into a Dome Caf?.
The listing follows the State Government's recent announcement to slash the backlog of buildings waiting for heritage assessment and potential listing. Under the Government's accelerated registration program, 550 assessments are anticipated to be completed over the next three years.
Minister's office: 9220 5050