NEW POST OFFICE

Otago Witness, Issue 4032, 23 June 1931, Page 54

NEW POST OFFICE

TENDERS TO BE CALLED

The announcement was made by the Minister of Public Works (Mr W. B. Taverner) on Friday that Cabinet had decided to call for tenders for the erection of the new Post Office at Dunedin. “It will be remembered that some months ago I gave an assurance that the building would be proceeded with,” said the Minister. “ Unfortunately, owing.to the prevailing financial stringency, it has not been possible earlier to call for tenders, as it has been necessary to make a detailed review of the plans with a view to effecting economies where possible. This action, together with other difficulties which were the natural outcome of present conditions, has unavoidably had the effect of delaying till now action in the direction of the calling of tenders. In common with other citizens of Dunedin, I have been alive to the necessity for a new post office building, and have used every effort to advance the project. I had originally expected that matters would have reached the present stage some time ago, but now that the necessary Cabinet authority has been granted no time will be lost by my department. “.The work will be a very large- undertaking, the contract set of plans comprising 96 sheets. The building will house all Government departments, thus effecting a substantial saving in rentals. It is to be of nine storeys, of a total height in Bond street of 116 feet, with frontages 142 feet to Princes and Bond streets, and 149 feet to Water and Liverpool. streets. The architectural design is distinctly modern in style, with°a total absence of cornices, except to the entablature of the main entrance, and is a dignified, monumental, and logical expression of the function of the building. It will be constructed with a steel framework encased in concrete, specially designed to resist heavy earthquakes.”