Wingham Post Office

About

Wingham Post Office is a heritage-listed post office at Wynter Street, Wingham, New South Wales, Australia. The original building was designed by the Colonial Architect's Office under James Barnet and constructed by William T. Smith of Cundletown. Additions were designed by the CAO under Barnet's successor, Walter Liberty Vernon, and built by S. A. Levick (1904) and H. W. Alcorn (c. 1909–10). The property is owned by Australia Post. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 22 December 2000.

The first official postal service in Australia was established in April 1809, when Sydney merchant Isaac Nichols was appointed as the first Postmaster in the colony of New South Wales. Prior to this, mail had been distributed directly by the captain of the ship on which the mail arrived; however, this system was neither reliable nor secure.

In 1825 the colonial administration was empowered to establish a Postmaster General 's Department, which had previously been administered from Britain.

In 1828 the first post offices outside of Sydney were established, with offices in Bathurst, Campbelltown, Parramatta, Liverpool, Newcastle, Penrith and Windsor. By 1839 there were forty post offices in the colony, with more opening as settlement spread. The advance of postal services was further increased as the railway network began to be established throughout NSW from the 1860s. Also, in 1863, the Postmaster General W. H. Christie noted that accommodation facilities for postmasters in some post offices was quite limited, and stated that it was a matter of importance that "post masters should reside and sleep under the same roof as the office".

The appointment of James Barnet as Acting Colonial Architect in 1862 coincided with a considerable increase in funding to the public works program. Between 1865 and 1890 the Colonial Architects Office was responsible for the building and maintenance of 169 post offices and telegraph offices in NSW. The post offices constructed during this period were designed in a variety of architectural styles, as Barnet argued that the local parliamentary representatives always preferred "different patterns".

The construction of new post offices continued throughout the 1890s Depression years under the leadership of Walter Liberty Vernon, who retained office from 1890 to 1911. While twenty-seven post offices were built between 1892 and 1895, funding to the Government Architect's Office was cut from 1893 to 1895, causing Vernon to postpone a number of projects.

Following Federation in 1901, the Government of Australia took over responsibility for post, telegraph and telephone offices, with the Department of Home Affairs Works Division being made responsible for post office construction. In 1916 construction was transferred to the Department of Works & Railways, with the Department of the Interior responsible during World War II.

On 22 December 1975 the Postmaster General's Department was abolished and replaced by the Postal & Telecommunications Department, with Australia Post and Telcom being established. In 1989, the Australian Postal Corporation Act established Australia Post as a self-funding entity, which heralded a new direction in property management, including a move towards smaller, shop-front style post offices away from the larger more traditional buildings.

For much of its history, the post office has been responsible for a wide variety of community services including mail distribution, as agencies for the Commonwealth Savings Bank, electoral enrolments, and the provision of telegraph and telephone services. The town post office served as a focal point for the community, most often built in a prominent position in the center of town close to other public buildings, creating a nucleus of civic buildings and community pride.

The first Post Office to serve Wingham was established on 1 September 1853, located approximately four miles from Wingham at Bungay, moving to Wingham in 1856. For the next 28 years the office continued to operate out of temporary accommodation until the erection of an official office in the town. The Post and Telegraph Offices were amalgamated in April 1880, having worked from separate buildings since the arrival of the telegraph in 1879.

In March 1880, Robert Burdett Smith MP presented a petition to the Postmaster General asking for the construction of an official Post and Telegraph Building in Wingham. With the backing of the Superintendent of the Telegraph Department for a new building in January 1881, a letter was sent to the Minister for Works requesting the erection of a new building. In May 1881, James Henry Young MP responded to another public meeting by recommending a site for a new office. This site was a portion of the Government Reserve commencing at the southwest corner of the Public School, extending to Farquhar Street and bounded by Wynter Street on the western side. The choice of the site on the Government Reserve caused continuing delays to the project, as the Postmaster General's Department and the Lands Department squabbled over the positioning of the building.

Following further representations to Parliament from the residents of Wingham, the Postmaster General (PMG) gave approval for £1,000 to be placed on the Parliament estimates committee for the erection of a new office at Wingham. The site chosen was changed after the Lands Department objected to the building being on the Government Reserve, and they recommended a site facing Isabella Street.

Despite the ongoing problem with the selection of a site for the building, plans for the office were still being drawn by the Colonial Architect. The Postal Inspector, De Milhau, who had recommended the original site on the government reserve, suggested that Wingham Post Office be based on similar sized offices at Wallsend, Clarence Town and Dungog. The estimated cost for such a building was £1,425, or £1,700 with an underground tank and fencing. In July, Inspector De Milhau recommended that the site proposed be selected, with an additional 100 feet to Isabella Street secured. In December 1882 the Lands Department again advised the PMG about their objections to the proposed site and suggested a site adjoining the Public School that had a frontage to Isabella Street of 125 links and a depth of 400 links. The PMG rejected this advice, advising the Lands Department that a site with 200-foot frontage to Isabella Street was needed.

The Colonial Architect submitted a fresh plan for the building on 13 December 1882 for an estimated cost of £1,325, which was approved by the PMG. Again the Lands Department raised objections to the site, arguing against the curtailing of the Recreational Reserve; however, the PMG approved the erection of the building and informed the Lands Department on 7 April 1883.

On 10 April 1883 the Public Works Department advised that the tender for the erection of Wingham Post and Telegraph Office had been awarded to W.T. Smith for £1,625, with underground tank and fencing, to be completed within 12 months. Confusion over the site remained even after the tender was awarded, with the Department of Public Instruction complaining that the new office would be directly in front of the school teacher's residence. However, the office was not in front of the teacher's house, and the building continued.

The Postmaster, James Hodgins, advised the PMG that he moved into the new office on 27 June 1884. In March 1886 a temporary building was added to the office to serve as a bathroom for the Postmaster and his family. A permanent bathroom was not added until 1895-6, being seen as an expensive extravagance prior to the turn of the 1900s. During the 1890s, before 1896, a first-floor verandah and post boxes were also added.

Between 1902 and 1910 a number of alterations and extensions were made to the Post Office building. A new counter was installed in 1902, with a battery and store room being erected the following year. Batteries were used to provide electric current to the morse equipment. S. A. Levick of Cundletown made other repairs and alterations to the building during 1904 for a cost of £136. Part of this work included the construction of a front entrance lobby and the removal of a dividing wall in the residential section to create one room.

In 1909, a portion of the front office was partitioned to allow for a private space for the public telephone to be located in, as privacy on the phone had been a problem. A manual telephone exchange had been added to the office in August of the same year.

In September 1909, two plans were submitted for the extension of the public space in the office. The plan that was eventually accepted included the use of a verandah and provided for an office 29 feet x 15 feet and a public space of 21 feet x 6 feet 9 inches. The tender was awarded to H. W. Alcorn of Taree for £256, but cost £299.2.9 to complete.

Up to 1923, a number of outbuildings were also added to the complex, including a linesmen's office, engineer's stores and tools shed, a mechanic's room and store, tool and battery room and a slab shed for records storage. These extensions represent the growing population of the district and the growing importance of the Post and Telegraph service to the district. Further extensions were added to the building in 1922 at a cost of £944.6.3, but the details of the works are unknown.