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GLENTHOMPSON POST OFFICE & RESIDENCE

Location 33 Memorial Road, GLENTHOMPSON VIC 3293 - Property No 0039 File Number 665 Level Stage 2 study complete

[1/1] 23451 Post Office Residence

Statement of Significance

What is significant?
The Glenthompson Post Office is single storey timber building located on the south side of Memorial Road in the centre of the township of Glenthompson. The building is possibly the third to be used as a post office, as the first building to house the postal service was Mac's Hotel, and the second was a purpose built structure, of an unknown location. The post office building is a small timber structure, built to the street boundary The main office is in the front with a relatively rare original timber counter, bench and equipment. The room is lined with bead-edged boards. There is a work room behind the main office. It is a rare surving example of an intact post office chamber interior in Southern Grampians Shire. The contiguous residence is located on the west side of the post office. It is also weatherboard and has a simple facade with a central door and double hung sash windows. The facade is set back from the property line and there is a timber front verandah.
.There has been no architect or builder associated with the design. The post office is in good condition and retains a good degree of external integrity.

How is it significant?
The Glenthompson Post Office is of historical and architectural significance to the Southern Grampians Shire and to the community of Balmoral.

Why is it significant?
The Glenthompson Post Office is of historical significance as it represents the focus for postal and telecommunications services to the community from the 1860s to the present day. It is of architectural significance for its comparison with the post offices in the other communities of the Shire. The interiors are a rare surviving example within Southern Grampians of an early twentieth century Post Office chamber, with original fittings and fixtures. It allows us to understand a previous way of working, and a previous way of life, prior to the mechanisation and computerisation of our postal service. It represents a particular period in the history of Post Office buildings designed and built by the State.