Fortitude Valley Post Office
| Fortitude Valley Post Office | |
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Fortitude Valley Post Office, 2014
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| Location | 740 Ann Street, Fortitude Valley, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Coordinates | 27°27′25″S 153°02′10″E / 27.457°S 153.0362°ECoordinates: 27°27′25″S 153°02′10″E / 27.457°S 153.0362°E |
| Design period | 1870s - 1890s (late 19th century) |
| Built | 1887 |
| Architect | Colonial Architect's Office |
| Architectural style(s) | Italianate |
| Official name: Fortitude Valley Post Office (former), Fortitude Valley Post and Telegraph Office | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 24 January 2003 |
| Reference no. | 600198 |
| Significant period | 1887 (fabric) 1887 – c. 1987 (historical) |
| Significant components | post & telegraph office, residential accommodation – post master's house/quarters |
| Builders | William Ferguson |
 Location of Fortitude Valley Post Office in Queensland
Location of Fortitude Valley Post Office in Queensland
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Fortitude Valley Post Office is a heritage-listed former post office at 740 Ann Street, Fortitude Valley, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Colonial Architect's Office and built in 1887 by William Ferguson. It is also known as Fortitude Valley Post & Telegraph Office. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 24 January 2003.
The Fortitude Valley Post Office and Telegraph Office, as it was first called, was constructed in 1887 by William Ferguson for the Queensland Post and Telegraph Department to a design prepared by the Colonial Architect's Office of the Department of Public Works. The original working drawings are unsigned however it is believed that the design was carried out by either John James Clark, who was the Colonial Architect from 1883 to 1886 or George St Paul Connolly, who held the position from 1887 to 1891. The building, composed in the Victorian Italianate architectural style, is one of only ten substantial Queensland post offices designed in this style that were all built between 1879 and 1898. Comparatively, the Fortitude Valley Post Office has the most ornately detailed cement-rendered facade and is the only post office designed and constructed with mansard roofs. The building was also one of only two masonry post offices that were built in 1887 – all others were constructed of timber.
Government policies in 1887 required that post and telegraph services were combined, and that accommodation for postmasters and their families be provided. Accordingly, the Fortitude Valley Post Office was designed to have post and telegraph services at ground level with living quarters above. A single-storey service wing originally extended northwards to the rear of the building and opened onto a fenced courtyard abutting Ballow Street. Internally the ground floor consisted of a spacious office area for the combined services of post and telegraph. Access to the postal services was via the vestibule located at the corner of Ann and Ballow Streets that led to a small public area with a diagonal counter. Telegraph or parcel services were accessed via the smaller vestibule located at the far end of the arcade facing Ann Street. The first floor was occupied entirely by the postmaster's living quarters and consisted of two living rooms, four bedrooms and an internal bathroom. The single-storey service wing at the rear consists of the postmaster's dining room, kitchen and servant's room. Earth closets were located adjacent to the kitchen, in northern corner of the site.
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