THE OLD POST OFFICE SITE.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2483, 5 March 1881, Page 2

THE OLD POST OFFICE SITE.

SECOND EDITION

The place so well known to every correspondent in Timaru, and we may say, South Canterbury, has undergone a won derful transformation. The much worn steps, the nnpainted whlls, the dust begrimed windows, and those emblems of human avarice and eternity, the insatiable letter-boxes, have disappeared and given way to the elegant in art, and the attractive in commerce. The new premises were lighted up last evening, and they will be relighted to-night in a still more imposing fashion. In the centre is a commodious hall leading to W. Collins and Co.’s auction rooms. The interior is neatly fitted up with side office and semi-circular counter for the display of goods, behind which is the rostrum. The auction department is commodious, lighted from the end and ceiling, the walls are lofty, and there are ample facilities for storage and display. Goods entered for sale are conveyed by a right-of-way to the rear, so that the footpath is not interfered with and confusion is avoided. On either side of the hall are the warehouses respectively of Messrs Wade and O’Shea, bootmakers, and Ritchie and Co., bakers, pastrycooks, and confectioners. Thus, where letters were assorted and money orders issued, leather is now manipulated in such a way as to give comfort, ease and elegance to the pedal extremities of the population. The sons of St. Crispin who have followed the postal mousy changers, have signalised themselves by the production of boots and shoes that will defy the mean devices of the borough shingle-sowers for twice or three limes as long as the ordinary imported article. Added to their durability, their boots are patterns of elegance that have only to be seen to be admired. Where the click of the telegraph operator used to be heard, and conversation was conducted over scores and hundreds of miles, the finest of pastries, the most inviting of sweetmeats, the most delicate of cakes, and all the artistic novelties in the confectionery line are now on view. Messrs Ritchie and Co. have resolved to astonish the tastes and appetites of the population, and judging by the large and varied stock of luxuries on view they are bound to succeed. Altogether the change that has been made on the old dilapidated Government structure is as brilliant and surprising as the transformation scene of a Christmas pantomime.