Government Buildings, Kalgoorlie

Statement of Significance

The massive scale and grandeur of the Government Buildings is of aesthetic importance to the goldfields community.

The building is a fine example of J. H. Grainger's architectural skill in handling mass, scale and detail in a large Italianate civic building.

The Government Buildings, centrally located on Hannan Street, has ensured the building became an integral part of the townscape. The clock tower is a recognised Kalgoorlie landmark.

The functions of the Government Buildings were directly associated with mining activities, therefore the building is a constant reminder of the history of the town's foundation.

The Government Buildings was the first major public building erected in Kalgoorlie. It was an important confirmation of the permanence of the mining town.

Prominent persons associated with the construction of the building include the Premier Sir John Forrest; mining warden J. M. Finnerty; and government architect J. H. Grainger.

The massive scale of the Government Buildings, incorporating postal services, telecommunications and a miners court, demonstrates the State's recognition of the importance of the Kalgoorlie goldfields in the economic development of Western Australia, at the turn of the century.

The building is widely recognised in Western Australia as being associated with Kalgoorlie.

The social significance of the Government Buildings was nationally recognised in 1992, when Australia Post featured the building as part of a set of four stamps celebrating the centenary of the discovery of the West Australian goldfields.

The Government Buildings is the largest public building constructed outside the metropolitan area.

The Government Buildings is a representative example of the extensive public buildings program undertaken by the State Government in goldfields localities such as Coolgardie, Cue, Kalgoorlie and Leonora.

Statement of Significance: Government Buildings has considerable cultural significance because:

- the external architectural grandeur of the building is rarely found outside the metropolitan area;

- the place strongly contributes to the visual character of Hannan Street;

- the place is a fine example of the work of Architect, J. H. Grainger;

- the place is closely associated with the early development of Kalgoorlie and the eastern goldfields,

- the place is associated with prominent historic persons, including Sir John Forrest (Premier), J. M. Finnerty (Mining Warden) and J. H. Grainger (Government Architect); and,

- the place has local, State and National recognition as a landmark associated with Kalgoorlie and the eastern goldfields.

Physical Description

: A building report (1969) indicates that the interior of the building has had no major structural alterations, although there has been a number of minor alteration (Department of Works, 1969). The Conservation Plan (1993) provides a more detailed statement on changes to the building fabric, and its condition.

A major visual alteration concerns the cladding of the roof. The roof of the front elevation and ends of the main part of the building was originally clad with slate and the remainder being clad with corrugated iron. However, the slate roofing was replaced during the 1930s with galvanised iron. In 1958, when the building underwent maintenance, the roof originally covered by slates was re-laid with clay tiles, restoring some of the building's old character. The building was renovated again in 1965 at a cost of £20,274. During this building programme, the remainder of the main part of the building still covered with galvanised iron was laid with tiles to match those put on in 1958.

Several changes which took place are set out in the Conservation Plan, and include:

- 1905: Enclosing a section of the ground floor rear and erecting and modifying toilets on the rear first floor verandah;

- 1911: Enlarging the front section to include a portion of the ground floor arcade to form a Banking Chamber with court access shifted to the side door. A section of the rear office was extended and a section of the ground floor walkway enclosed as for 1905;

- post war: Additional facilities erected on the first floor and the ground floor area converted to toilets. Suspended ceilings to most areas and air-conditioning units installed (for additional detail, refer to the Conservation Plan).

The some structural damage to the building occurred in November 1992, when a car mounted the footpath and demolished a column and two adjacent arches of the arcade. However, these elements have since been rebuilt.

Apart from minor cracks, the render sections and embellishments of the facade are sound. Apart from damage caused by dropping mortar from stone patching, the tiled roof is in good condition. Internally, floors, plaster, joinery, paintwork and ceilings are in good condition. Where visible the original ripple iron ceilings appear sound with no rust or deterioration. Much of the ceiling has been overlaid with suspended plasterboard to conceal duct work above.

Very few, if any, of the original fittings and furniture remain. However, despite changes in the Government Offices occupying the building the main fabric has been respected and the few changes integrated into the facade.

In 1997, the face of the stonework on the facade of the Post Office was ground back approximately 10 mm in places and the stone face is now flush with the mortar joints. Other works undertaken to the stonework included:

- a reconstituted stone mix was used on the building comprising crushed stone, two varieties of sands (beach and course grain sand from Esperance), lime (weather damaged plasterers lime), and Danish white cement;

- the decision to use reconstituted stone rather than indenting with matching stone was believed to have made by the Contractors;

- cement mortars were used to pack behind the reconstituted stone, in some cases 4:1 and others 6:1. In some areas, in particular the north wall, a heavy grey cement was used to give a 'structural boost' to the walling as deterioration of stone was approximately 300 mm deep (pers. comm., Mr Willis-Jones, stonemason, 1997);

- galvanised nails and trimmings from reinforcement mesh were used as dowels, as experimental;

- 'Bondcrete' causing the grime appearance (which was applied to the lower half of the ground floor facade only) was not injurious to the stonework, no evidence of rising damp. The decision to remove the 'Bondcrete' was for aesthetic reasons;

- the 'Bondcrete' was removed by using a scabbling tool with a needle gun attachment (causing a newly textured surface) to approximately 40-50% of the stone face for the hollow spots, and grinding disks and wheels were used to shave back flat faces, high spots and joints.

Other work included:

- some mortar joints re-pointed by the tradesmen are of a different colour and composition to the original mortar joints; and

- some surface markings applied to imitate the original tool marks do not match.

Possible causes of stone deterioration yet to be solved:

- concrete air drains at the north and the north-east side of the building are water saturated. The downpipes do not connect directly to the drains. It is not known exactly to where the ducts are connected.

- taps attached to the exterior walls, in particular the north wall, run-off outside the drain allowing water to freely splash over the walls. Some evidence of fretted stonework in these areas.

- the stonework has been replaced at the point of entry of a service channel carrying air conditioning ducts on the north wall;

- rendered bands on the lower section of the exterior walls and brick paving partially cover wall vents reducing sub-floor ventilation.

- falling damp at facade (west side of the building) is causing deterioration - evidence of mould at top of wall.

History

Communication with the outside world was a very important issue for the great number of people who flocked to the Kalgoorlie area, after the discovery of gold in 1892-93. As a result there was a pressing need for a postal service. After the appointment of a temporary Postmaster, the first official mail was received on 11 February, 1894 (Department of Works, 1969). The volume of mail steadily increased, to such an extent that the postmaster refused to continue work, unless he received additional help and a temporary post office. The post office was built out of poles and filter cloth, over a weekend. Such was the growth of business that by November 1895 the postal staff had reached 14 and a new building was urgently required.

With the advent of the railway to the goldfields reaching Kalgoorlie in September 1896, and consequently cheaper freight, hessian buildings rapidly gave way to buildings of corrugated iron ones, and, in some instances, stone which was quarried locally. The much needed additional Post Office was built of galvanised iron. It was commenced on 8 July 1896 and completed by 19 August of the same year by the builders Philip and Royle, at a cost of £708.5.0. However, by 1897 there was growing agitation for the provision of more suitable accommodation for the growing postal requirements of the community and the increasing number of public officers, who served Kalgoorlie and the surrounding area. Coincidentally, the Public Works Department was taking steps to establish a permanent office in Kalgoorlie. The following report on the progress of design work was included in the Architects report of the Public Works Department Annual Report.

"Kalgoorlie Public Buildings: This block is proposed to face Hannan Street, and will comprise the Wardens Court and Offices, offices of the principal officials and branches of the Mines Department, the Courts of Justice, and a large Central Post and Telegraph Office. The Building, as designed, will be the largest and finest of the buildings so far erected on the Goldfields of the Colony. The working plans are approaching completion" (Department of Works, 1969: 6).

It was proposed to construct the building on Lots 62, 63, 64, 65 and 66.

Local newspapers reported with eager anticipation all stages of the construction of the building. 'Mr Grainger, the Architect-in-Chief, and officers of his staff have arrived in Kalgoorlie to act in connection with the work, which is to be put into hand at once. It will be a fine block of buildings... ' (Western Argus, 12 May 1898: 20).

A report in the Kalgoorlie Miner, dated 7 May 1898, described the new civic buildings as follows:

"Kalgoorlie's New Public Buildings - In view of the fact that work is now started on the erection of the delayed public buildings for Kalgoorlie, the tender of Messrs. Couston and Finlayson for £22,000 having been accepted a couple of days ago, some particulars of what is going to be done will be of interest. Anything like a full statement of the architectural details would require too much space, but the main features may be told of.

The block of two-storey buildings is to be located on the space alongside the Miner's Institute and to the front of the present wood and iron Government offices. They will be right on the edge of the footpath line and will have a total frontage of 261 feet, with a clock tower 110 feet high to the top of the dome in the centre.

The Post and Telegraph departments will occupy the right hand half. The front, along the whole length of the building, will be arcaded, the supports being round colonnades, and facing the street under the arcade of the Post Office half, will be the usual letter and parcel receiving boxes. The main entrance will terminate in a postal hall, 59ft.6in. by 25ft, and 21ft high, around which are money order clerks' and other offices. A kiosk, where stamps are to be had, will be located in the middle of the postal hall, which will be well lighted by windows at the upper part of the walls. To the left of the 10ft wide hallway will be a 53ft x 25ft sorting-room, with private letter boxes in front. The postmaster will have his quarters, or a considerable part of them, on the ground floor, also his and his clerk's offices.

There will be a separate entrance from the street to the Savings Bank, which will be a separate division and comprise, besides the public business apartments, several clerks' rooms.

The upstairs portion of the right half of the long building will be occupied by the telegraph and telephone divisions. The telegraph operating room will be the chief one and the Telephone Exchange will be next in importance. There will be battery, clerk's, lavatories, cloak rooms, etc ranged around the space occupied by the upper part of the postal hall, the roof of which will be of the same height as the rest of the building, in order that direct light may be given to every room...

A feature of the buildings, which are to be fairly elaborate in the way of exterior appearance, will be tile roofs. It must be mentioned that there is to be a big underground tank for water, with a holding capacity of 18,000 gallons, while there will also be tanks on the roofs, with piping attached and hose ready for use in case of fire" (Kalgoorlie Miner, 7 May 1898).

Soon after this report appeared, work commenced on the building. The footings were of concrete, and the external faces and colonnades in local freestone and granite quarried locally at the Ashlar Quarry (Department of Works, 1969: 11). The progress of the construction was reported in the Western Argus in September 1898:

"Very good progress has been made by the contractors, Messrs Couston and Finlayson, with the Kalgoorlie Public Buildings. The brick and stone portion of the first half - the Post Office section - has been completed, and the carpenters are now working at the roof timber. It is expected that this section will be ready for occupation in four weeks hence. The foundation work has started for the other half - the Warden's Court section - and preparations are being made for the erection of the superstructure of the big clock tower. About 40 men are now engaged on the work, and under the skilful direction of Mr. Finlayson and Mr D. Fraser, the foreman, with the assistance of Mr. Cottrell, the clerk, the labor is being done to the best advantage and well. Mr Phair, the Government supervisor, is always in evidence too. All connected with the buildings seem to take a pride in their work. For the hauling of material to the upper parts of the big structure an engine is used" (Western Argus, 22 September 1898: 20).

The Post Office wing was completed in January 1899 and the postal and telegraph staff were transferred into the new building in February 1899. Not long after, electric light was installed. Meanwhile, the old post office building was demolished and the east wing of the building constructed. The court chamber in the Warden's Court section of the Government Buildings was used for the first time on 25 September, 1899 (Western Argus, 28 September 1899: 20). Later, on the 9 October 1899, a group of distinguished gentlemen assembled at the new Courthouse, at the invitation of the Warden, to celebrate the official opening of the buildings (Western Argus, 12 October 1899: 20).

The tower and clock are of particular note. The tower, rising 100ft above the pavement, is an excellent example of the masons' skill, and serves as a city landmark, as well as housing 8 water tanks for fighting fires. The Premier, Sir John Forrest, who attended the Coolgardie Exhibition on 30 March 1899, also paid a visit to Kalgoorlie. During this visit the Premier promised a clock for the tower. The Western Argus, of 13 April 1899, published a photograph of the laying of the last brick of the tower. The value of the tower as an observation point was quickly realised and the newspaper published a series of photographs of Kalgoorlie taken from the top of the tower (Western Argus, 27 April 1899: 12). There was a delay of several months before the clock was installed and in the meantime the four gaping faces were used by sightseers as a lookout. The town clock, provided by the State Government, was formally started on 11 August 1900, by the Resident Magistrate, J. M. Finnerty (Western Argus, 16 August 1900: 15). After a 15 months construction period and a further wait of 11 months for the clock, the Government Buildings were finally complete.

The building, apart from its massive size and scale, has a civic grandeur that is rare in Western Australia. It is a fine example of Grainger's architecture. During the period of construction of the Government Buildings, Kalgoorlie was the scene of much building activity.

“In addition to the speedily progressing work in connection with the Public Buildings in Hannan-street, there is much activity at the eastern end of the street... Occasional visitors to Kalgoorlie do not fail in finding cause from time to time for expressions of approval at the steadily progressive improvement of the architecture of the town” (Western Argus, 18 May 1899: 20).

In March 1901, the postal service in Western Australia was officially taken over by the Commonwealth Government. Henceforth, the Post and Telegraph Office portion of the Public Building in Kalgoorlie was Commonwealth owned. During WWII, some of the rooms on the first floor west end were used by the Australian Broadcasting Commission as a wireless station, but generally the building continues to be used for the purpose for which it was built.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: High
Authenticity: High

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This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.