A decade after the city was established, Launceston gained its first overland mail service from Hobart in 1816. It is claimed that this was the first overland mail delivery service in Australia. From the 1820s, the post office service was operating in four private houses:
•1820s - first recorded Postmaster Arundel Wright, conducted business from the corner of York and St John Streets.
•1830s - p
ost office relocated to a cottage on the corner of Paterson and St John Streets.
•1839-59 - post office relocated to 27/53 George Street.
•1859-89 - post office relocated to Government Offices on St John Street opposite. In 1856 a telegraph service was established in Launceston and the first mail train services to and from Hobart commenced in 1877. Located on the northeast corner of the intersection of Cameron and St John Streets, Launceston Post Office was built on the former site of the Royal Olympic Theatre, which was part of the London Tavern. Eldridge who had inspected the site in January 1885. Eldridge had also recently completed a design for the Hobart Supreme Court buildings from 1884 to 1887. On 23 November 1885, the building contract was awarded to James Hill. On 24 March 1887, the contract was transferred to John and Thomas Gunn who completed most of the construction by 1889. By February 1890, the architects Corrie and North undertook alterations to the original design, including that of the large corner tower. On 22 December 1890 the telegraph office was opened and in January 1891, postal services were transferred from the government offices. When opened, the building was not well received by the local community; the external patterning and colour was considered controversial, as was the interior arrangement of the mailroom and the incomplete form of the corner tower turret. Some asserted the design "to be the last and grossest insult to the people of Launceston" and called for its demolition. Further, by error, the tower was constructed without provision for a clock as originally intended. The matter of the clock resurfaced during the 1906 centenary celebrations and the Launceston Clock and Chimes Committee was formed to initiate a public subscription push to fund its installation. The committee raised an estimated 1,339 pounds sterling for the clock and re-dressed the issue of the upper tower, seeking assistance from the Commonwealth Department of Home Affairs Works Division. The Division had taken over responsibility for post office design following the passage of the Commonwealth Post and Telegraph Act in 1902. In January 1908, Inspector-General Colonel Percy Owen of the Commonwealth Department presented two bell tower options to the committee. Their preferred design was selected and an order placed with Gillett and Johnston of Croydon (Surrey, England) for the clock and bells. The design for the Italian inspired tower top was by Hedley Westbrook, possibly under the supervision of the Commonwealth Senior Architect JS Murdoch and working drawings were prepared by May 1908. The clock and bells were installed in October 1909 and the tower completed in 1910. http://auspost.com.au/about-us/heritage-property-showcase.html
Opening hours
Weekdays - 09:30 to 17:30
Weekends - Closed
