| Crows Nest Post Office | |
|---|---|
 Building in 2014 | |
| Location | 19 Curnow Street, Crows Nest, Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia |
| Coordinates | 27°15′44″S 152°03′21″E / 27.2622°S 152.0558°E |
| Design period | 1900 - 1914 (early 20th century) |
| Built | 1911 - 1911 |
| Official name | Crows Nest Post Office |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 27 June 2003 |
| Reference no. | 602403 |
| Significant period | 1911 (fabric) |
| Significant components | residential accommodation - post master's house/quarters, post & telegraph office |
  Location of Crows Nest Post Office in Queensland  Crows Nest Post Office (Australia) | |
Crows Nest Post Office is a heritage-listed post office at 19 Curnow Street, Crows Nest, Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1911. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 27 June 2003.[1]
YouTube Encyclopedic
-
1/3Views:7 4821 6091 128
-
Army-Navy Screen Magazine, No. 69, 1945
-
Washington Lookouts List - My Final 10 Lookouts Visited
-
Bodmin Moor Zodiac: The Sign of Libra
Transcription
♪ (Music) ♪ What's tomorrow going to be like? What kind of houses are we going to live in? How will the homes of tomorrow be built? How much will they cost? What about housing projects in large cities? What about prefabricated houses? What about jobs in the construction industry? The tomorrow department of Army Navy Screen Magazine, decided to take a look into the housing situation to try to give you some of the answers. Today as never before, the United States is thinking about housing. Planning for it, talking about it. Need for new housing and construction of every kind is at peak level. For four years no building of any sort - except that directly connected with the war effort - had been done. And now the demand for all kinds of living quarters has piled up so high, a million and a half new homes are scheduled to blossom forth every year for the next ten years. Fifteen million new homes. And Americans are in a position to pay the bill. Yes, economically, America is ready and the architects, planners and builders are ready with new ideas they've been developing during the war. More metropolitan housing projects, low-cost prefabricated houses, custom-built functional homes, new living quarters of every kind to fit every need. ♪ (Music) ♪ Americans realize that slums like these can no longer exist. Where ten million of our people still live in squalor and darkness. Where future citizens grow up without sunlight and fresh air and space to play. Forty percent of American homes are still without modern plumbing. Twenty percent are without gas or electricity. One third of the citizens of the richest nation in the world is ill-housed. But already, slums and some metropolitan centers are coming down, condemned by forward-looking civic governments. Down they're coming: The cold water, no-light tenements. Down are coming the bad living conditions that produce bad citizens. The under-privileged families from the dark areas of our cities are being moved into the sunlit, tree-surrounded clean apartments of gigantic housing projects, produced by city planners as investments in democracy. ♪ (Music) ♪ Cities within cities, scientifically planned and built. Where a man and his family with a small income can live with comfort and dignity. Where there are playgrounds and space for the kids to stretch their growing limbs right outside the front door. Where shops and stores are a planned part of the city within the city. Everything from the corner drug store to the local movie theater. Even an automatic laundry, where Junior waits outside while mom finds the family wash can be done in five minutes for a quarter. Such a housing project as this is the result of planning, planning so that any five-year-old can scamper to his heart's content without fear of city traffic. Planning so that the rate of disease goes down, and the rate of happiness and health goes up. Inside, every room has light and air, fresh paint, heating and modern plumbing. And all at a rent no higher than was paid for a cold water tenement. And there are other plans too, for better living conditions. During the war, research has gone ahead on new building materials and techniques in preparation for the American building boom. Everyday in testing laboratories throughout the country, men and women are working to develop new ways to build better and cheaper living units. With shatter-proof glass bricks, chemically treated synthetic fibers, laminated plastics, reinforced plywoods. Roofing materials and curtain wall boards which will be lightweight, but winter-proof and strong as metal. New metals such as this light-gauged steel, which can be hammered and nailed like wood. And out of the war itself have come new tools and materials for the builders. Materials like plexiglass for the gunner's turret - will find enumerable functions to perform in tomorrow's home, which itself may be factory-made, ordered right out of a catalog. ♪ (Music) ♪ Prefabricated is the word for such houses. The parts of the house are stamped out like airplane or automobile parts. Rated, shipped and set up at a price almost anyone can afford. Houses such as these were assembly-line made, proving the theory of many a planner that the assembly line principle, which results in low cost and great quantity in everything from toothbrushes to liberty ships, can be applied to the building trades as well as other industries. The difference in cost between such a prefabricated house as you see here and a custom built house is the same as the difference between an assembly-line-built car, and one built to an individual's specifications. Prefabricated houses are one way to low-cost living on a high-standard level. Mass produced houses, built and bought as you would buy a car. Fit for either city or country way of life. Here's a completely prefabricated farm, even down to the barn, which many a G.I. will easily recognize as his old friend, "The Quonset hut", which is more efficient, cheaper to erect and maintain than the old red barn. And inside, with stalls on rollers, space is saved and the whole unit is efficient and compact with such new ideas as fluorescent lighting, paying off in increased chicken production. Another major development in housing is the pre-assembled mass-produced house, like these homes. All the elements were machined by factory methods, but were put together by standard methods in groups on the site. This kind of housing might be described as midway between pre-fabricated houses which fit together like an erector set, and the old style completely hand-built houses. Entire towns like the famous secret city of Oak Ridge where the Atom bomb was manufactured, were filled with houses like these. And the interior of these homes of tomorrow will sparkle with as many labor saving devices as an advertising writer's dream. ♪ (Music) ♪ Efficient and pleasant, they will be clean, well-lit, skillfully planned, easy to maintain. The prefabricated houses and the preassembled houses are still at the experimental stage. Waiting for the final word from the men and women who are going to do the buying and the building. And changes in certain city building codes, which prohibit the use of many new materials and methods. ♪ (Music) ♪ And the planned community and housing projects too are in an evolutionary stage, waiting for progressive city governments. Yes, there are many questions about future housing still unanswered, but one thing is sure: The housing boom is going to mean jobs...lots of them. A million and a half new homes a year for ten years. ♪ (Music) ♪ Eighteen million existing homes need major repairs and improvements right now. All this adds up to jobs. And for every man working on the building site, two men are employed behind the scenes making building materials and tools. And for every housing unit constructed, men will be needed to build the furniture and run the machines to make the curtains, carpets, kitchen equipment. And the million articles which are needed in a modern house. Just as the automobile brought about a huge new industry after the last war, housing can be the big new post-war industry in our time. Across the face of America will spring up planned communities, great housing projects replacing city slums. Communities of cheap but comfortable and healthful homes...away from the city factories and smoke. ♪ (Music) ♪ Across America will rise homes for the citizens of this country which are worthy of them. ♪ (Music) ♪ ♪ (Music: "Anchors Aweigh") ♪ Down through history, Navy men have worn a variety of colorful uniforms. But today the sailor's uniform, like his ship has been scientifically stream-lined. The blouse, uh, jumper is tailored of eighteen ounce vat-dyed navy blue melting cloth. The cuffs and collar are of the same material. Uh, (wolf howling sound) Hmm. The cuffs and collar are... (habahabahaba). Oh well, perhaps we better go aboard ship and have a look around. Well here's Seaman TARFU. He'll help us with our little uh, demonstration. Oh yes, the jumper. The Navy man carries very little on his person; therefore the Jumper has only the one small pocket, which however, is adequate for all his personal effects. Hmmm. The less said about a sailor's pants the better. The jumper, although snug-fitting, was designed to be easily removed. Grasping the lower seam between the thumb and forefinger of each hand and exerting a gentle upward pull before our sailor boy can say "heave ho the (mis--em mass)". (??) "heave ho the (mis--em mass)". "Pop" (sound of TARFU's top coming off). There, it's off in a jiffy. ♪ (Music) ♪ (Bell) Man your battle stations, man your battle stations. Navy crafts are always kept immaculately clean. And whatever natural hazards may be encountered, are always handled with true Navy efficiency. Of all Navy traditions and ceremonies, the most colorful is that of piping the Admiral aboard. Another Navy tradition is that of growing a beard on long cruises, but it must conform to regulations. Ahem, the regulation clearly states, "the hair, beard and mustache must be worn neatly trimmed". (dog repeats, in disgust): "the hair, beard and mustache must be worn neatly trimmed". And what is a sailor without a tattoo? (Inaudible) Hmmm. Wonder what the weather's gonna be tomorrow. Uh, duh, looks like a storm to me. Seriously, however, Navy equipment is the finest obtainable. And though a sailor must still take his turn at standing watch at the Crow's Nest, he has at hand the most powerful binoculars in the world, enabling him to see through solid banks of fog, mist and rain. Even beyond the horizon. (whistling at a sunning lady) sunning lady: "Fresh!" ♪ (Music) ♪ In conclusion, of course, no picture about our Navy would be complete without some appraisal of the American sailor as a fighting man. Let's hear from a recognized authority on the subject: (inaudible character, sounds like Japanese language) WHO SAYS THIS? What'd ya expect, sailor? The Army made this picture! ♪ (Music) ♪
History
Crows Nest Post Office was constructed in 1911 and is the second purpose built post office in the town, which is the centre of a rural area whose industry is based on cattle and sheep and increasingly, on tourism.[1]
In 1843 Campbell McDonald of Durandan run took out a depasturing licence for the Crows Nest area and in 1849 James Canning Pearce took up the first pastoral license. His head station comprised huts, yards and a large fenced paddock. The run passed through a number of owners before being acquired by WB Tooth in 1858. In 1868, under the Crown Lands Alienation Act, Tooth gained a lease for half of the run, the rest being resumed by the Crown and opened up for closer settlement.[1]
The Crow's Nest station was unsuccessful and was abandoned; the lease was forfeited for non-payment of rent and the land opened for selection in 1875. Two timber reserves of 960 acres (390 ha) and 5,665 acres (2,293 ha) were declared and in 1876 reserves for a township and cemetery were made. Settlement at Crows Nest was begun in the vicinity of the station homestead, which is thought to have been near the present police station. The town was surveyed in February 1877 and the first land sale was held in April of that year. A hotel was erected soon afterwards and a Court of Petty Sessions was instituted with J T Littleton, a local landholder, as Police Magistrate. A telegraph office was opened on 17 October 1877 and in 1878 a post office was opened in the same modestly scaled premises, which were situated in Albert Street.[1]
In 1886 a branch railway line from Toowoomba reached Crows Nest, its purpose being to principally to provide transport for timber from the Crows Nest and Pechey area, but also to encourage the development of farming and dairying along its route. Becoming the railhead for such a line made Crows Nest an important commercial centre but the railway initially caused some problems because the line passed the settlement at a point north of the town centre. As a consequence the business centre shifted closer to the railway station, a large paddock in the vicinity having been purchased and subdivided for sale by the time of the station's opening. The post office moved to the railway station in December 1886 and for some time the station master performed postal duties, a common arrangement in small centres where the railway station was the focus of communications and movement of goods.[1]
The area thrived and the township developed quickly in the early 1900s. In 1905 two banks opened branches in Crows Nest and a newspaper, the "Crow's Nest Record" was established. A butter and bacon factory was built and there were several sawmills in the area, including a large planing factory built in 1907. In 1906, Percy Gargett, a newsagent, won the contract to conduct postal, telegraph and telephone services at Crows Nest and had a building constructed in Curnow Street next to McDiarmid's store.[1]
Although in 1901 the Commonwealth Post Master General's Dept was created, transfer of responsibility from the colonies to new organizations was gradual. The Commonwealth administration upgraded buildings and facilities in towns associated with agricultural and pastoral expansion, such as Crows Nest. New post offices were built in some towns and others had facilities upgraded. In 1911, an official post office, the current building, was constructed at the corner of Curnow and Toowoomba Road, conveniently close to the railway station. The new post office was built to a standard type designed by the Queensland Works Department. A timber building with a single porch and gable and a lantern surmounting the roof, it was a variation of the form that became one of the most readily identifiable post office styles. Post office buildings constructed in Queensland between 1906 and 1921 achieved a high standard of design and construction and architecturally, the porch and gable type is significant for the quality of construction and detail, for the resolution of climatic considerations, and for the visual appeal of its form. While the buildings referred to a standard type, designs for individual post offices were modified to suit each site and local needs. 13 post offices of this type were constructed between 1909 and 1913, mainly to serve small towns in South East Queensland. Not all of these survive and some are no longer post offices.[1]
Crows Nest thrived and by 1921 had a population of over a thousand people, close to the present population level. The railway closed in 1961 and the track, buildings and yards were removed, the land being used for other purposes, including a park.[1]
The post office building now operates as a privately owned real estate business.[2]
Description
The Crows Nest Post Office is a single storey timber building set on low stumps and is located prominently on the corner of Curnow Street and Toowoomba Road. It is the type identified as T18 by the National Estate Study of Historic Post Offices in Queensland, being an intact single porch and gable post office with frontages to both streets.[1]
The post office has a gabled roof clad in corrugated iron with a decorative lantern on the roof ridge. The northern elevation has a projecting gable with an adjoining porch, over which the main roof is extended and is supported by paired timber posts. The main entrance is through the porch and is reached by stairs with timber handrails. There is a bank of triple sash windows in the gable and a sun hood shades these. Banks of windows are on either side of the building, those on the western side also shaded by a hood.[1]
The interior of the building is lined with painted tongue and groove boards and has a high ceiling. Changes, such as a more modern counter, appear to be minor.[1]
To the rear of the post office is the residence. This is a high set timber building with a hipped roof clad in corrugated iron. The elevation facing the street has pairs of casement windows above a low timber wall that appears to be an early adaptation of a verandah. The main entrance is currently on the eastern side of the building, which has windows of a form similar to those on the post office.[1]
Heritage listing
Crows Nest Post Office was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 27 June 2003 having satisfied the following criteria.[1]
The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history.
Crows Nest Post Office is important in illustrating the pattern of Queensland history, being a facility erected during the period before the First World War when the new Commonwealth government made a policy of upgrading postal services to developing agricultural and pastoral communities. It reflects the growth of Crows Nest and its importance as a railhead and commercial centre for the surrounding district in the early years of the 20th century.[1]
The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places.
Crows Nest Post Office is important in illustrating the principal characteristics of a timber porch and gable post office building of the period 1906–1921, designed by the Queensland Works Department, which was instrumental in improving the quality of building design and construction in Queensland.[1]
The place is important because of its aesthetic significance.
Crows Nest Post Office has aesthetic significance as a well-designed and distinctive public building. Its position with elevations to both Curnow Street, and Toowoomba Road makes it prominent in the townscape of Crows Nest to which it makes an important visual contribution.[1]
The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.
Crows Nest Post Office has had a long connection with the people of Crows Nest and the surrounding district as a provider of communication services that have been conducted from this building since 1911 until the present time.[1]
References
Attribution
This Wikipedia article was originally based on "The Queensland heritage register" published by the State of Queensland under CC-BY 3.0 AU licence (accessed on 7 July 2014, archived on 8 October 2014). The geo-coordinates were originally computed from the "Queensland heritage register boundaries" published by the State of Queensland under CC-BY 3.0 AU licence (accessed on 5 September 2014, archived on 15 October 2014).
External links
Media related to Crows Nest Post Office at Wikimedia Commons
This page was last edited on 19 May 2024, at 23:12