Ponsonby Post Office
| Ponsonby Post Office | |
|---|---|
_(1).jpg) | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Edwardian Baroque |
| Location | 1-3 St Marys Bay Road, Ponsonby, Auckland |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Coordinates | 36°50′50″S 174°44′41″E / 36.84723936313432°S 174.7445847003885°E |
| Construction started | 1912 |
| Cost | £3700 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | John Campbell |
| Designated | 7-July-1987 |
| Reference no. | 628 |
The Ponsonby Post Office is a Heritage New Zealand Category 1 Historic Place. It is the former post office for the suburb of Ponsonby, and is located in Three Lamps area of Ponsonby.[1]
History[edit]
It was designed by the Government Architect, John Campbell, and built by L McKinstry.[1] It cost £3700, half of which was contributed by the residents of Ponsonby.[1]
On 13 March 1920 the Postmaster Augustus Braithwaite was murdered in his home.[2] His keys were then used to rob the Post Office.[2] Dennis Gunn was found guilty of Braithwaite's murder and was executed in June 1920.[3] This was possibly the first time that a capital crime had been prosecuted with the accused identified entirely by fingerprint evidence.[4]
.jpg)
It was considered as an earthquake risk in the 1940s and the clocktower and building was saved from demolition.[4] In the 1970s, there were concerns again, and $11,000 worth of renovations were undertaken.[4] Auckland Council sold the post office in 1992 to Portmain Properties.[4] Auckland Council continued to lease the property until 2002 as a post office.[4] It was then sold again in 2003.[4]
Since 2002, there have been several businesses that have leased the space. In 2004, it was converted into a drinking establishment, Belgian Beer Cafe, which led to a Malcolm Walker cartoon of the post office as a burlesque dancer appearing in the Bay News.[5] The building was sold again in 2013 for $4.86 million.[6] At the end of their ten year lease, the Belgian Beer Cafe left the ground floor.[6] The building was then put back on the market in 2014, eighteen months later, with the ground floor empty and the upper floor leased to a medical practice.[6]
It most recently sold in June 2016 for $5 million.[7] Since 2020, Hotel Ponsonby, a bar, bistro and beer garden, have been based in the ground floor of the building.[8]
Architecture[edit]
The building is described as a "very free, idiosyncratic example of Edwardian Baroque architecture."[1] It sits at the corner of Saint Marys Rd and College Hill with the entrance being at the apex of the triangular site.[1] It was constructed using brick walls with a cement finish on the ground floor, and pressed brick walls with cement dressing.[1] The interior walls are finished in Keene's cement and Rimu for the woodwork.[1]
In 1913, the building was modified to add a clock and to heighten the clock tower which sits over the entrance façade.[1] Above the entrance there is a large broken pediment with the royal coat of arms.[1] It is one of the best preserved Edwardian post offices in New Zealand.[1] It is, however, described as somewhat ill-proportioned.[1]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Ponsonby Post Office (Former)". Heritage New Zealand.
- ^ a b "Sensation at Ponsonby". Ashburton Guardian. Vol. XL, no. 9255. 15 March 1920. p. 4.
- ^ "Gunn's Execution". Waihi Daily Telegraph. Vol. XVIII, no. 5941. 18 June 1920. p. 3.
- ^ a b c d e f "Post office leaves stamp on history". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
- ^ "After 92 years of being a post office... "To your night life" "Shameful" Bay News". natlib.govt.nz. 23 August 2004. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
- ^ a b c "Ponsonby landmark back on market". interest.co.nz. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
- ^ "3/1 St Marys Road, Ponsonby - QV". www.qv.co.nz. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
- ^ "The iconic Ponsonby Post Office gets a new lease on life as Hotel Ponsonby, a bustling new gastropub". Denizen. 2020-12-01. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
External links[edit]
Media related to Ponsonby Post Office (former) at Wikimedia Commons