2023 - HAL Noordam Cruise #1 - Auckland to Sydney. - Christchurch NZ - 7 of 34
Christchurch's 19th-century post office building still under restoration after the February 2011 earthquake.
Designed in Italianate style, the Chief Post Office of Christchurch was opened in 1879.
Despite all odds, it survived the earthquake and is scheduled to reopen as a hospitality and visitor complex for Christchurch's ever-expanding tourism industry.
The building was designed in the Italianate style in 1875 by William Henry Clayton who held the title of Colonial Architect.
The foundation stone was laid on 24 May 1877 and on 14 July 1879 the Post Office officially opened.
As well as the Post Office, the building also housed other government departments including Immigration, Customs and the Public Works.
The building was also the site of the first telephone exchange in New Zealand, which opened in 1881.
The clock in the tower of the building was installed in 1879 and its bell, which marked the hours, remained in operation until the 1930s.
The bell returned in 1974 for the Commonwealth Games, but fire damage in the 1980s forced it to be decommissioned.
Further additions were made in 1907 to the western end of the northern façade of the building.
In 1929 the telephone exchange vacated the building, relocating to a new building on Hereford Street to meet the Post Office’s need for working space.
In 1968 the government started the construction of the new post office building at 53 Hereford Street.
Following the completion of the new Hereford Street site in 1981.
The building later became privately owned, and from 2000 to 2011 an i-Site Visitor Information Centre was located within. Another attraction was the Southern Encounter Aquarium. Starbucks Coffee was also an occupant. In 2008 the Lotus Heart restaurant was opened in the upper floor.
The building was closed after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. Despite the damage, earthquake repairs to the building commenced in 2018.
CLOCK TOWER
The Chief Post Office clock, reputed to be a reduced model of Big Ben in London, has an interesting history of its own.
Installed in September 1879, it proved to be notoriously unreliable.
In 1888, the Christchurch City Council undertook maintenance of the clock. In 1944, and again in 1955, the Council was advised the mechanism had reached the end of its useful life, but there was a reluctance to spend money on a replacement because of the Government’s known intention to erect a new Post Office without a clock.
An electric clock was installed which controlled the four visible faces as slave clocks and since that time the clock has been more accurate.
Originally the bell struck the hours, but in the 1930s it was silenced because of complaints from a neighbouring hotel, since demolished.
However, in 1974, in time for the Commonwealth Games, the bell on the clock tower was reactivated but remained silent at night.
Since the mid 1980s, the bell has not been heard after a fire damaged the mechanism.
2023 - HAL Noordam Cruise #1 - Auckland to Sydney. - Christchurch NZ - 7 of 34
Christchurch's 19th-century post office building still under restoration after the February 2011 earthquake.
Designed in Italianate style, the Chief Post Office of Christchurch was opened in 1879.
Despite all odds, it survived the earthquake and is scheduled to reopen as a hospitality and visitor complex for Christchurch's ever-expanding tourism industry.
The building was designed in the Italianate style in 1875 by William Henry Clayton who held the title of Colonial Architect.
The foundation stone was laid on 24 May 1877 and on 14 July 1879 the Post Office officially opened.
As well as the Post Office, the building also housed other government departments including Immigration, Customs and the Public Works.
The building was also the site of the first telephone exchange in New Zealand, which opened in 1881.
The clock in the tower of the building was installed in 1879 and its bell, which marked the hours, remained in operation until the 1930s.
The bell returned in 1974 for the Commonwealth Games, but fire damage in the 1980s forced it to be decommissioned.
Further additions were made in 1907 to the western end of the northern façade of the building.
In 1929 the telephone exchange vacated the building, relocating to a new building on Hereford Street to meet the Post Office’s need for working space.
In 1968 the government started the construction of the new post office building at 53 Hereford Street.
Following the completion of the new Hereford Street site in 1981.
The building later became privately owned, and from 2000 to 2011 an i-Site Visitor Information Centre was located within. Another attraction was the Southern Encounter Aquarium. Starbucks Coffee was also an occupant. In 2008 the Lotus Heart restaurant was opened in the upper floor.
The building was closed after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. Despite the damage, earthquake repairs to the building commenced in 2018.
CLOCK TOWER
The Chief Post Office clock, reputed to be a reduced model of Big Ben in London, has an interesting history of its own.
Installed in September 1879, it proved to be notoriously unreliable.
In 1888, the Christchurch City Council undertook maintenance of the clock. In 1944, and again in 1955, the Council was advised the mechanism had reached the end of its useful life, but there was a reluctance to spend money on a replacement because of the Government’s known intention to erect a new Post Office without a clock.
An electric clock was installed which controlled the four visible faces as slave clocks and since that time the clock has been more accurate.
Originally the bell struck the hours, but in the 1930s it was silenced because of complaints from a neighbouring hotel, since demolished.
However, in 1974, in time for the Commonwealth Games, the bell on the clock tower was reactivated but remained silent at night.
Since the mid 1980s, the bell has not been heard after a fire damaged the mechanism.