Details reviewed on this page are:
The first government building for postal services in Melbourne was opened in 1842 at the corner of Elizabeth and Bourke Streets.
The present Melbourne G.P.O was built between 1859 and 1907 at the same location. It was designed by the architect A.E. Johnson - who actually won second prize in a competition for the design. It now incorporates a wide mixture of architectural styles due to the time over which it was built.
The clock tower built at the intersection of the two streets is still used as a reference point to measure distances from Melbourne. Although an impressive tower by 1867 as shown below, subsequent construction raised in higher and made it more dominant.
In September 2001 a fire severely damaged the interior. The building now incorporates a wide variety of cafes outside and specialist shops inside - as well a Post Office.
A full description of the building as it was in the late 1860s is provided on page 1 of the Scientific American 12 August 1871.
Melbourne Post Office and surrounding environs, in 1853. Ellis Drapers at right, Schults & Roio to left of lamp post. |
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Postcard printed in Austria. |
The Melbourne G.P.O. as it was at the end of the 1867 construction phase. Drawing printed on page 1 of Scientific American 12 August 1871. Elizabeth Street extends to the left and Bourke Street to the right. |
The original Central Telegraph Office was situated at the north-east corner of William and Little Bourke Streets.
In 1857, the staff in the Melbourne Electric Telegraph Office consisted of a station master, a line inspector, a signal master and a messenger for town deliveries. This staffing was clearly less than that required.
The Government directed that, as from March 1864, the Telegraph Office should be closed on Good Friday and Christmas Day.
The Argus reported on 6 April 1869 that:
"a branch telegraph office will be opened to-day at the General Post Office, the entrance to which will be from Bourke Street. Communication has been opened with all stations, and messages will be received and transmitted the same as at the head office near the Custom House.
It is intended that messages sent - say, from Ballarat and directed to a person whose address is nearer the Post Office than the Head Telegraph Office should be transmitted direct to the Post Office branch, and thence delivered by messenger in the usual way. To avoid confusion in priority will, in practice, be perhaps the most difficult thing with this twofold convenience.
Suppose a share broker from the Hall of Commerce sends a message directed to his agent at Ballarat to buy some shares, and this message is delivered at the head office at eleven a.m. and a broker in Elizabeth Street delivers a similar message at the same hour at the post office; some little difficulty will no doubt arise. But suppose the operator at the post office was, at eleven a m., engaged in sending several messages to Ballarat, then it would be impossible to send from the head-office the one delivered at that hour until he had finished transmitting. This would give the Elizabeth Street message, even delivered a few minutes later, a rare chance of being delivered first.
As the authorities, however, have stretched so many wires to the new branch establishment, and fitted it up in every way to give increased accommodation to the public, these and other difficulties may be capable of being overcome".
On 15 July 1872, the new Telegraph Office was opened in the new location on the corner of Elizabeth Street and Little Bourke Street. It was not considered to be as imposing as the old Exchange building but the accommodation for the Public and Employees was far superior. This office was only designed to be temporary but it was anticipated that it would probably meet all requirements for several years or at least until the north wing of the General Post Office, had been erected for use as the Telegraph Office.
"The operating-room, where the slaves of the lamp pursue their avocations, sometimes far into the night, is 52ft. long and 40ft. wide. At night it is lighted with a sunlight, and each operator has also a gas-burner to himself. It is an eminently comfortable room. The instruments are ranged round the walls, forming a hollow square. There are 30 in all, and from the position in which Mr. James, the manager, and Mr. Payter, the assistant manager, sit, each operator can be seen at work by the officer in charge. The instruments on the western side represent the inter-colonial lines, those on the north the local lines, those on the east the coast lines and those on the south the northern lines to Sandhurst and Swan Hill". See elsewhere for a continued description of the operating room and the building.
Extracted from 1874 Report by the Superintendent p. 20. |
Simultaneously with the removal of the Chief Telegraph Office to Elizabeth Street, a branch telegraph and money order office was opened in the eastern end of the Custom House to overcome any problems the merchants who do business in the western half of the city might suffer from the change.
The Argus, on 16 October 1882, carried the following story:
"The necessity for a new central telegraph office has long been recognised, and three proposals are now before the Government for new offices:
- to purchase the premises of Messrs. Briscoe and Co. in Collins Street;
- to secure an available site at the corner of Queen and Bourke streets;
- to utilise the comparatively vacant space adjoining and at the rear of the Post-office.
These proposals will probably be considered at a meeting of the Cabinet which will probably be held to-day. Of the three, the premises of Messrs. Briscoe and Co. appear to be the most eligible although an objection is raised to their distance from the Post-office. Plans have been prepared for utilising the land adjoining the Post-office, but these will probably be abandoned, as the site will be most inconvenient to the public. At the side of the Post-office in Bourke street is an archway, which leads to a private roadway through into Little Bourke street. Next to this is a block of buildings which extends to another right of way, known as the Herald or Angel Lane. These buildings are used for business purposes, and are owned by private individuals. At the rear, however, and extending between the two lanes to Little Bourke street, is a strip of land in part owned and in part rented by the Government. On this strip, which is now used for stables and other out offices in connexion (sic) with the Posts and Telegraph department it is proposed to erect the new telegraph offices. It would undoubtedly be a most desirable position if the Government owned the frontage to Bourke street; but as the frontage is rented to business people, under an extended lease, it appears to must undesirable and inconvenient to erect a large public building at the rear of these premises. It is undesirable because the building would be in the background and it is inconvenient because the public would have to traverse a covered archway or corridor for about 150 feet before they reached the telegraph office, savings bank and other public offices. Some years ago the front premises referred to were offered to the Government for £20,000 but now they are valued at £50,000 and would probably not be sold for that sum" (page 8).
The Illustrated Australian News for 29 February 1884 continued with details:
"An agitation has been existing for some time with the view of inducing the Government to provide additional accommodation for the transaction of the telegraphic business, in Melbourne.
Various proposals have been made to this end, and at one time the Government,admitting the inadequacy of the present Telegraph Office for the rapidly increasing business, entered into negotiations for the purchase of the extensive premises in Collins Street formerly occupied by Messrs. Briscoe and Co., iron- mongers, which it was intended, should be devoted to the purposes of a telegraph office. The negotiations failed, however, on the question of terms and then Mr. Berry, the Postmaster-General, manifested a disposition to give favorable consideration to a proposal that the Office should be removed to the building at present used as the police court, in Swanston Street, adjoining the Town Hall.
This proposal, however, met with a good deal of opposition from the merchants in the western part of the city, and the vexed question has now been fairly settled by the determination, which has received the sanction of the Cabinet, to add another storey to the present Post Office, and devote the additional space thus gained to the use of the Telegraph Office. The plans in connection with the proposed alterations have already been prepared and it is expected that the work will be completed within two years. The additional storey will have the effect of greatly improving the appearance of the Post Office buildings".
The importance attributed to the role of the Central Telegraph Office in Victorian life in the late 1860s and the dependency on telegraphic communication in particular is highlighted by questions asked by Mr. Richardson in the Victorian Legislative Assembly:
"Mr. RICHARDSON called the attention of the Government to the delay which occurred in the receipt in Melbourne of the intelligence of the wreck of the Victoria Tower, a passenger ship from England, which took place outside the heads on Sunday morning October 17. He stated that news of the wreck reached Geelong at eight o'clock, and an attempt was made by the officer in charge of the telegraph-office in that town to communicate it to Melbourne but the effort was not successful until about noon, in consequence of no one being on duty in the telegraph-office in Melbourne. The delay might have resulted in serious loss of life; and, to prevent such a contingency in the future, he suggested that there should be some person on duty night and day - on all days of the week - at the central telegraph-office in Melbourne.
Mr. COHEN observed that the honourable member was correct in saying that the information in regard to the wreck of the Victoria Tower did not reach Melbourne until about noon, in consequence of there being no person being in attendance at the telegraph-office. Care would be taken that such delay could not occur again" (p. 1986 of Parliamentary debates, Vol 9).
On 30 November 1869:
"Mr. RICHARDSON reminded the Minister of Customs that, some weeks before, he called his attention to the inconvenience attending the closing of the telegraph office in Melbourne on Sundays, as shown in the case of the wreck of the Victoria Tower. Similar inconvenience had since been experienced in connexion (sic) with the burning of the Lightning in Corio Bay; and last Sunday afternoon the news reached Cape Otway of the loss of the Marie Gabrielle but the fact was not known in Melbourne until Monday morning, because no officer was in attendance at the central telegraph station. He thought that these circumstances were sufficient to impress upon the Government the necessity of having some one always in attendance at the central telegraph station.
Mr COHEN explained that, in consequence of the representation made to him, he communicated with the Telegraph Department, in order that some one might be kept on duty, night and day, at the central station" (p. 2350 of Parliamentary debates, Vol 9).
The central office was referred to as the Telegraph Branch until changes of names:
The date stamps for the Chief Telegraph Office.
Telegraph Branch/ G.P.O.
There are 5 formats for the date stamp with these words and letters: Format 1: Two line date and 4 digits in the year.
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27 November 1883. Used on VC-EO-8. |
19 June 1884. Used on VC-EO-8. |
Format 2: Two line date with two digits for the year.
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15 October 1889. Used on a receipt for a Foreign Telegram. |
Format 4: Two line date with two digits for the year..
Diameter: 25 mm. |
31 July 1888. |
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Format 5: Two line date with two digits for the year. Dots around G.P.O. are in the middle of the letters T and H. Stops after each letter of G.P.O.
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10 February 1897. Used on VC-DO-18. |
16 November 1898. Used on VC-DO-16B. |
Two line date with two digits for the year. Thin letters.
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25 February 1901. |
23 September 1901. Used on VC-DO-16C. |
Two line date with two digits for the year. Thick letters.
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Used on AI-DO-1. |
Used on VI-DO-2C. |
Telegraph Branch Duplex with Melbourne at the right. Two line date with two digits for the year. Has Counter Number 1 above date.
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20 September 1884 Counter number above the date. Used on VC-EO-8. |
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Telegraph Branch Duplex with Melbourne at the right. Two line date with two digits for the year. No Counter Number.
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20 January 1885. Used on VC-DO-17B. |
Telegraph Branch/ Melbourne. Two line date.
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6 December 1901.
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Two line date.
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C.E.T.O./ Melbourne. Thick letters.
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Used on VI-DO-1C Has a DELAYED/LINES INTERRUPTED hand stamp. |
8 February 1924. Used on a Reply Paid form AE-RO-1B. |
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C.E.T.O./ Melbourne - Vic.
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Used on VI-DO-3Ea |
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Used on AE-DO-1E. |
3 mm arcs on each side.
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4 May 1931. |
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4 February 1936. Used on IAX-DO-4A. Rated: RRRR used on a telegram. |
C.T.O./ Melbourne: SC1-CTO.
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16 March 1928. Used on AB-DO-4B. |
26 June 1928. |
Chief Telegraph/ LEFT: A unique item. Two different proof strikes with a date of 25 November 1927. Two telegraphic strikes on a dozen or so large specimen sheets being discarded by a printer which comprised the archive of jobs he had done. The sheets contain many kinds of handstamps for commercial purposes as well as many postal handstamps. |
Provenance: Dave Elsmore.
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OFFICE lowered from top words.
2 digits for year.
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Used on AB-DO-4Db. |
30 June 1935.
Used on AB-DO-8Bd (1934). |
2 digits for year.
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Used on AB-DO-7Bb. |
Used on AW-DO-9Ba (40). |
OFFICE lowered from top words.
2 digits for year.
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19 November 1934. Used on IAX-DO-4A. |
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OFFICE lowered from top words.
2 digits for year.
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Used on AB-GCF-39C. |
Used on AW-DO-10B (47). |
OFFICE lowered from top words.
Number in the Census (on telegram): 3. |
28 March 1940. Used on Xmas Greetings form |
24 December 1944. Used on a Military telegram to Toorak |
2 mm arcs for separation of Melbourne.
Diameter: 30 mm Used in black: 11 June 1942 |
OFFICE spans 10 mm. |
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Chief Telegraph Office/ The feature of these date stamps is that the words CHIEF TELEGRAPH OFFICE curve continuously around the top of the circumference and the word MELBOURNE is at the base. Both the month and the year always is recorded with 2 digits. |
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No separation marks around Melbourne.
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22 December 1926. Used on AB-DO-4A. |
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Dots for separation around Melbourne. Left dot centered but right dot on the outside of the letters.
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19 November 1934. Diameter: 30 mm Inside distances: Used on AB-GVF-34. |
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Dots for separation around Melbourne. Both dots around Melbourne are on the outside.
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Used on IAX-DO-4D. |
A second example dated 15 July 1948 is recorded on the same type of form but the lettering has been smudged especially in the lower half below the date. |
One dot before MELBOURNE
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Used on IAO-DO-1B (Heard Island to Glen Iris, Vic).
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Used on AW DO-10 (49). |
Dots centered on letters before and after Melbourne.
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Used on AW-DO-10A (45).
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Used on an OTC International form for incoming cables IAO-DO-2A. This message originated in Antarctica. |
Arcs for separation around Melbourne.
1 mm side arcs in the center of the letters.
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Rounder letters - especially for the G, the B and the O. |
7 March 1956. Used on AA-DO-13B.
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1 and 2 mm side arcs in the center of the letters.
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4 September 1942.
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Two 2 mm arcs in the centre of the letters.
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Used on AW-DO-9B (42). |
Used on AW-DO-10B (43). |
No mark before M(el) but a centered 1 mm arc between E-E.
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17 September 1955. Used on AW-GCF-54B. |
Dot before MELB... and thick 1 mm dash between ...ICE and ...RNE.
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£2 green Arms. 24 July 1962. |
£1 blue Arms. 20 July 1962. |
Detail showing the dash before C(hief) |
Chief Telegraph Office - rubber handstamp. MELBOURNE at base. The date could rotate within the frame and so it appears in various positions. |
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RC1 - CTO. Has stars with 5 points for separation. Used in blue: Diameter: 31 mm. Rated: RR. Number in the Census: 11
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See also the unique Carlton rubber rectangular date stamp for the suburban Carlton Telegraph Office. |
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The same format with 5 pointed stars but with a different top inscription was used at other local Post Offices - for example Crows Nest (NSW), Gilgandra (NSW), Goulburn (NSW), Pyrmont (NSW). |
Used on AA-RO-10 |
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Has side arcs instead of stars for separation. Used in violet: Diameter: 31 mm. |
19 December 1962. Used on AW-DO-10-C (59). |
28 June 1963. Used on AW-DO-10-C (59). |
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Has 5 pointed stars for separation. Has day before month. |
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Has 6 pointed stars for separation. Has month before day. Used in violet: 25 July 1968. Diameter: 29 mm. Rated: RR. Number in the Census: 1.
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Used on IAA-TT-6. |
C.T.O./MELBOURNE rubber handstamp. Straight line handstamp.
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Used on AA-DO-13B. |
Used on AA-DO-13D. |
Straight line handstamp. Letters are elongated.
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Used on AA-DO-13D. |