Geelong Post Office
Encyclopedia
The current Geelong
Post Office
opened in 1994 and is located on the corner of Gheringhap and Little Myers Streets. The original post office was located on the corner of Ryrie and Gheringhap Streets. The Geelong Telegraph Station was located next door.
was a corner of a store in Barwon Terrace, South Geelong
, which opened around June 1840.
From August 1842 the Geelong Advertiser
office was used as a post office.
A permanent post office was completed in 1857 on the corner of Ryrie and Gheringhap Streets. It was demolished in 1889 to make way for the building that stands on the site today. The new building was opened in 1891, with one major omission - the clock tower
did not have a clock in it.
Work on providing a clock
and chimes did not start until July 1911, with a London
firm contracted to supply the timepiece. Five bells
were provided, the largest one weighing 15 hundredweight
(approximately 765 kilograms). Each clock face was 2.5 metres in size, the hour hands are 1 metre long, and the minute hands 1.25 metres long.
in 1994. The building was purchased by the City of Greater Geelong
for the use of community groups.
Geelong, Victoria
Geelong is a port city located on Corio Bay and the Barwon River, in the state of Victoria, Australia, south-west of the state capital; Melbourne. It is the second most populated city in Victoria and the fifth most populated non-capital city in Australia...
Post Office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
opened in 1994 and is located on the corner of Gheringhap and Little Myers Streets. The original post office was located on the corner of Ryrie and Gheringhap Streets. The Geelong Telegraph Station was located next door.
History
The first post office in GeelongGeelong, Victoria
Geelong is a port city located on Corio Bay and the Barwon River, in the state of Victoria, Australia, south-west of the state capital; Melbourne. It is the second most populated city in Victoria and the fifth most populated non-capital city in Australia...
was a corner of a store in Barwon Terrace, South Geelong
South Geelong, Victoria
South Geelong, also referred to as Geelong South, is a residential and industrial southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The suburb is adjacent to the Geelong central business district, with the Barwon River forming the suburb's southern border...
, which opened around June 1840.
From August 1842 the Geelong Advertiser
Geelong Advertiser
The Geelong Advertiser is a daily newspaper servicing Geelong, Victoria, Australia, the Bellarine Peninsula and surrounding areas. The Geelong Advertiser is the oldest newspaper title in Victoria and the second oldest in Australia, and was first published on 21 November 1840. The newspaper is...
office was used as a post office.
A permanent post office was completed in 1857 on the corner of Ryrie and Gheringhap Streets. It was demolished in 1889 to make way for the building that stands on the site today. The new building was opened in 1891, with one major omission - the clock tower
Clock tower
A clock tower is a tower specifically built with one or more clock faces. Clock towers can be either freestanding or part of a church or municipal building such as a town hall. Some clock towers are not true clock towers having had their clock faces added to an already existing building...
did not have a clock in it.
Work on providing a clock
Clock
A clock is an instrument used to indicate, keep, and co-ordinate time. The word clock is derived ultimately from the Celtic words clagan and clocca meaning "bell". A silent instrument missing such a mechanism has traditionally been known as a timepiece...
and chimes did not start until July 1911, with a London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
firm contracted to supply the timepiece. Five bells
Bell (instrument)
A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
were provided, the largest one weighing 15 hundredweight
Hundredweight
The hundredweight or centum weight is a unit of mass defined in terms of the pound . The definition used in Britain differs from that used in North America. The two are distinguished by the terms long hundredweight and short hundredweight:* The long hundredweight is defined as 112 lb, which...
(approximately 765 kilograms). Each clock face was 2.5 metres in size, the hour hands are 1 metre long, and the minute hands 1.25 metres long.
Today
The Post Office was relocated to its current site by Australia PostAustralia Post
Australia Post is the trading name of the Australian Government-owned Australian Postal Corporation .-History:...
in 1994. The building was purchased by the City of Greater Geelong
City of Greater Geelong
The City of Greater Geelong is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia.It is located in the western part of the state, south-west of Melbourne. It has an area of 1,240 square kilometres. In 2006 it had a population of 191,000...
for the use of community groups.