page_title: General Post Office, Sydney
section_title: First stage construction (1866-1874)
hierarchical_section_title: General Post Office, Sydney / James Barnet's post office / First stage construction (1866-1874)
caption_attribution_description: English: 13. Post Office (Taken from the Building) SH 835
context_page_description: The General Post Office is a heritage-listed landmark building located in Martin Place, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The original building was constructed in two stages beginning in 1866 and was designed under the guidance of Colonial Architect James Barnet. Composed primarily of local Sydney sandstone, mined in Pyrmont, the primary load-bearing northern façade has been described as "the finest example of the Victorian Italian Renaissance Style in NSW" and stretches 114 metres along Martin Place, making it one of the largest sandstone buildings in Sydney.
  Throughout its twenty five year construction process, the GPO was marred by two major controversies, the first of which related to the selection of bells for the campanile clock and the second, more significantly, to the commission of Italian immigrant sculptor Tomaso Sani's "realistic" depictions of people for the carvings along the Pitt Street arcade.
context_section_description: Following the demolition of the old post office, the Wynyard 'temporary' building continued to serve as the post office for ten years whilst Barnet oversaw the first stage construction of his GPO. The designs which he had begun in 1863 were completed and submitted for approval in February 1865. Political changes however led to delays for the excavation and foundation works and tenders for the building's main construction did not go out until October 1866. On 17 December 1866, it was announced that builder John Young was awarded the contract for "carpenters, joiners, slaters, plumbers, painters and glaziers. His tender for masons and bricklayers was also accepted [whilst]...the commission for ironworks went to P.N. Russell and Co."
  Early progress proved to be a slow and difficult process, particularly due to the need to enclose the Tank Stream running below the foundations and to ensure construction would not affect adjoining buildings. In April 1869, The Duke of Edinburgh, Alfred (later known as The Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha), second son and fourth child of Queen Victoria, set the keystone of the George Street entrance for the post office. A prominent newspaper of the time reported that the "ponderous keystone" was quarried at Pyrmont and weighted 26 tons (26.5 metric tonnes), highlighting that it was one of many such stones used in the construction of the building and described as being "without parallel in the city." 
  As construction works progressed, public interest and attention turned increasingly to the future of this civic structure. Shortly after the official keystone setting ceremony, on 8 September 1869, news reports began anticipating how "the building will be one of the finest specimens of architecture in the colony - a credit to the city, and a monument to the ability of the colonial Architect by whom it was designed." It was also at this time that suggestions for the widening of the adjacent St. Martin's Lane began, with a newspaper commenting on 20 January 1870 that "a decent thoroughfare...would add to the architectural reputation of the city; but, without such an approach, it will probably furnish a subject for the laughter and contempt of strangers who may visit us." Despite this growing public interest, significant works to transform the lane way into what is now known as Martin Place would not be discussed in government circles until 1889, near the completion of the second stage of the GPO.
caption: Completion of the First Stage of Barnet's GPO facing George Street and the widening of St. Martin's Lane (now Martin Place), c. 1872.
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