New Plymouth Post Office (1959)

The 1995 NPDC CBD Heritage Study describes this building on the corner of Currie and Gill Streets as, "a strong no-nonsense piece of architecture, typical of public building of the 1950s, functional and built of quality materials". It was opened on 14 May 1959 by the Postmaster General, the Hon Michael Moohan. This was a gala occasion with Currie Street closed between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. and a crowd of several thousand. For more details on the opening of the Post Office please see the supplement in the Taranaki Herald on 13 May 1959. 

According to J.S.Tullett in The Industrious Heart this was "the culmination of 25 years of controversy, petitions and frustrating delays." The site had been first purchased in 1935 for £10,000 from the Shaw Estate. 

The Post Office was built by W. Williamson Construction Ltd of Christchurch for about £400,000. The architect was R.W. Syme from the firm, Taylor and Syme. The left-hand section of the ground floor (now - 2023 - occupied by a clothing store) features a glass atrium thought to have been designed by the well-known artist, E. Mervyn Taylor, however recently it's been discovered that it was actually designed by James Turkington and constructed in Auckland. In 1996 the art work was saved thanks to the action of the New Plymouth Heritage Group and the artist Don Driver. They convinced the ANZ Bank (the occupants at the time) to preserve the atrium for all to see rather than cover it over.

Kiwibank occupies the other half of the ground floor and the the upper floors are now serviced apartments (2023).

Related documents:

Sketch of site for Post Office (Taranaki Daily News 17 October 1935)

New Plymouth's Future Post Office  (Taranaki Herald 2 July 1938)

New Post Office First on Priority List (Daily News 21 May 1946)

All-Clear Given for the New Post Office (Taranaki Herald 30 June 1954)

Post Office ready in a few weeks (Taranaki Herald 5 July 1958)

New Plymouth's New Post Office Opened (New Plymouth Photo News #29 11 June 1959)