Former St. Arnaud Fire Station & Turncock's Residence, Post Box, 12 Napier Street, ST ARNAUD
12 Napier Street ST ARNAUD, NORTHERN GRAMPIANS SHIRE
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Statement of Significance
The Post Office Letterbox, Napier Street, St. Arnaud, is aesthetically and historically significant at a LOCAL level. It is associated with St. Arnaud's postal service from the late 1860s/early 1870s until the 1970s, and from the 1990s until the present day. It demonstrates unusual aesthetic qualities that include the square-shaped obelisk, large cornice, recessed and beaded panels, slot and square base with door.
The Post Office Letterbox, Napier Street, St. Arnaud, is socially significant at a LOCAL level. It is recognised and valued by the St. Arnaud community for its long associations with the local postal service.
Overall, the Post Office Letterbox, Napier Street, St. Arnaud, is of LOCAL significance.
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Former St. Arnaud Fire Station & Turncock's Residence, Post Box, 12 Napier Street, ST ARNAUD - Physical Description 1
Letterboxes, formerly known as 'pillar boxes' were common in Europe from the early eighteenth century, but not widely used in England until the 1850s. Melbourne established a postal service in 1837 and the first timber post boxes were erected by 1844. Locally made cast-iron post boxes were being erected in Melbourne from the 1860s. There were three main styles of cast-iron post boxes manufactured between the 1860s and 1920, of which only about 200 remain.
St. Arnaud's post box is the 'pyramid' style constructed c.1860s-1875 and erected on the corner of Napier and Alma Streets outside the now ANZ Bank. Apparently it was the only one erected in St. Arnaud, as the other known three were of a much smaller scale. It is square shaped resembling an obelisk, with a large cornice and recessed and beaded panels. Mail fell into the bottom section, to which was a small door opened by the postman who then collected it by hand. This particular style of post box was apparently designed for country use, having a vertical slot to assist those on horse back. Other examples had horizontal slots or a pair of slots. Following a decision by the Victorian branch of Australia Post, all post boxes were to be of a swing door style to enable larger parcels to be posted. Many early post boxes were subsequently removed and/or blocked up.
It was removed from its original site in the 1970s by Australia Post and resited on 5 December 1990 for the St. Arnaud and District Historical Society outside the former Turncock residence and fire station in Napier St.
Heritage Study and Grading
Northern Grampians - Shire of Northern Grampians - Stage 2 Heritage Study
Author: Wendy Jacobs, Vicki Johnson, David Rowe, Phil Taylor
Year: 2004
Grading: Local
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CROWN LAND OFFICEVictorian Heritage Register H1530
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ST ARNAUD RAILWAY STATIONVictorian Heritage Register H1594
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LORD NELSON TAILINGS DUMPVictorian Heritage Inventory
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