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The Brisbane GPO was built in 1872 to replace a temporary post office that operated elsewhere in Queen Street. A central tower, southern Telegraph Wing and clock were added in 1879. The complex held Brisbane’s first telephone exchange (1880) and was the telegram central distribution centre. A replacement clock was installed in 1908, when a three-storey building facing Elizabeth Street was added. Minor extensions occurred in 1911, 1943-44, 1957 and 1975. During World War II, its front was used as a saluting dais for military parades. A replacement clock was installed in 1982. In 1983, a postal and telecommunications museum was included within the GPO. Located in Queen Street, the original GPO building by FDG Stanley is an Italianate-influenced design with a near square plan form. The building is constructed of brick, porphyry (Brisbane Tuft) and sandstone. It has an arched sandstone colonnade at street level above which is a verandah whose roof is supported on Corinthian columns. The main entry of the building was marked by a triple bay projecting slightly forward and surmounted by a pediment enclosing a clock. The three central projecting bays of the arcade have vermiculated rustication below the line of the arches. Source: heritage.brisbane.qld.gov.au/heritage-places/408

Cairns Post Office Erected in 1937 was Cairns fourth post office and the third on this site (the first in 1886 and the second in 1907). It has a restrained Art Deco Style which was popular with government architects in the 1930s. It is a masonry building with a terracotta tiled roof The building has now been renovated and adapted inside for business purposes. The original “Cairns Post Office” sign can be seen behind the DFS Galleria sign. Source: www.oswayfarer.com/post-offices/#:~:text=Cairns

From 1871 onwards, the Post and Telegraph services to the Lower Herbert valley have provided a vital communication link between Ingham and the rest of the world. In 1874, the first Telegraph line was erected by Henry Simmonds between Waterview and the Lower Herbert (later Ingham), at a cost of £900 (approx. $105,039.50). In 1900, a purpose-built Post and Telegraph office replaced the original small building. Constructed by E. Corbett of Ingham. It was a solid timber and tin building with an L -shaped design. The Post and Telegraph office consisted of a foyer and counter area with a mail sorting room behind with five private boxes installed with public access. A small battery room was located at the end of the veranda for the telegraph service. The accommodation was provided for the single male clerks. The house contained three bedrooms, a sitting room, a dining room, a kitchen, a bathroom and storeroom with a veranda wrapping around two sides for the men to catch the breeze of an afternoon. By 1923, substantial renovations to the Post office were required to cope with mail associated with growth in the region. The sorting room, exchange and battery room were doubled in size and a new bank of private postal boxes were installed along the entrance veranda. A Savings Bank was added to the business and a small timber building was provided for the linesman with a stable and the toilet nearby. Source: www.hinchinbrookway.com.au/things-to-do/culture-art-histo...