Registering the former Kingston Post Office. Do you agree with the Heritage Council?

Check out the document library, site images and map of the property below to understand what's being proposed. You can have YourSay by:

• Taking the survey at the bottom of the page
• Alternatively, use the survey template (in the document library) and email it to the Council at heritage@act.gov.au

Comments made through this website are formal statutory consultation comments and are given to the Council. The statutory consultation notice can be found on the ACT Government’s Find a Public Notice site.

Visit the ACT Legislation register to view the Notifiable Instrument for the provisional registration of the former Kingston Post Office.

Former Kingston Post Office has been provisionally registered on the ACT Heritage Register for its role in the development of post-war Canberra and now the Heritage Council want to hear your comments to see if they got it right.

Provisional registration is only the first step to let you know why the Council thinks a place or object is important to the ACT and you, its residents. Now the Council want to hear what you think about their initial assessment to see if you think they got it right, or if there is other information to consider.

The Council’s initial view of heritage significance is in the survey, but you may find the following overview helpful.

The Former Kingston Post Office from 1947 is significant for its strong associations with the post-World War II development of Canberra, and for its Inter War Stripped Classical style with Art Deco details.

The Former Kingston Post Office building is situated on the corner of Jardine and Giles Streets and adjacent to the Kingston Shopping Centre. While an earlier post office existed in Kingston from the 1920s, with increasing demand the government planned and built the 1947 Kingston Post Office Building. It was also the first official post office constructed in Canberra after the Second World War and operated until 1989. The Former Kingston Post Office was the most important post office outlet for business and for residents of south Canberra during the urban development of the capital, and in particular the post-World War II period. It is the oldest surviving suburban post office building designed for the federal capital.

The 1947 building is a notable example of a building in the Inter-War Stripped Classical Style with Art Deco details. Following the principles of the style, the building features components of symmetrical planning; for example, the corner porches that are placed equidistantly around a central space. The mullions of the large window along the western wall are cylindrical in form, alluding to vestigial classical columns and also emphasise verticality, while the stepped end bay along the building’s western external wall implies a classical portico. The building is decorated with ornamental windows, extensively uses coloured glazed terracotta (faience) facing, and low relief ornamental detail. These are all principal components of the Art Deco Style. Details such as vent grilles and downpipe heads are of an attractive design consistent with the style of the building.

Since its construction, the building has undergone sympathetic renovation, upholding the integrity of the place.

This is the opportunity for you to say if you think the Council has it right or wrong, or if there is anything else they should have considered.

A common outcome of consultation is the Council confirming or rethinking what is included in their assessment, or what a final decision may look like. This can involve changing boundaries or adding or removing features that make up the significant fabric of the place.