Following a six-year construction effort, the scaffolding and construction ‘shrink’ wrap has been removed from Auckland’s Chief Post Office (CPO) building and the historic facade of the downtown landmark is once again fully visible.

CPO Unveiling

The CPO—a Category 1 listed historic building— reopened the ground floor ticket hall in April 2021 as the new main entrance to the Britomart Transport Centre. This followed four-and-a-half years of construction during which Britomart Station was converted to a through station as part of the City Rail Link project.

The building then received a ‘facelift’ during which its historic facade has been meticulously restored. This included repair and refurbishment of the original steel framed windows; repair and cleaning of the Oamaru stone façade and domes (Lower Queen Street frontage); replastering and colouring of the exterior facades along Tyler Street and Galway Street and replacement of external feature-lighting.

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff joined the project team to celebrate the completion of the exterior with a formal unveiling of the original, refurbished historic clock overlooking Te Komititanga Square.

“The old Chief Post Office is one of Auckland’s most important historic buildings. After more than four years of work inside, outside and underneath the building, it is finally fully renovated and ready to resume its place as an icon of the city,” he says.

“In its role as a transport hub and the new Waitemata City Rail Link station, this beautiful building will continue to play an active role in the lives of Aucklanders

“The restoration of the building’s iconic façade complements the significant public space upgrades Auckland Council has carried out across the downtown precinct, such as Te Komititanga, the public square outside Commercial Bay; Te Wānanga, the new harbourside park, and the upgraded Quay Street.

“The restored CPO celebrates Auckland’s history and heritage and contributes to our increasingly vibrant and people-friendly downtown. It will be enjoyed by Aucklanders and visitors to the city alike.”

CPO 1977

Auckland Transport Chief Engineer and Acting Executive General Manager Integrated Networks Murray Burt says the restoration of the Chief Post Office building’s stunning exterior will preserve this Auckland heritage icon for years to come.

“We’re so proud of our team for their dedication to the restoration of the Chief Post Office building facade, and the excellent work completed by CRLL to construct the Britomart Station tunnelling, refurbish the CPO Ticket Hall and construct the surrounding streetscape,” Mr Burt says.

“During the restoration our teams repaired and refurbished the CPO building’s original Crittall steel windows, repaired and cleaned the Oamaru stone facade, replaced all external feature lighting and installed new waterproofing membranes.

“We also addressed the challenge of birds nesting in the nooks and crannies of the building’s facade by installing steel cable lines which have been approved by Forest and Bird.

“After six years of extensive construction and restoration work, we’re excited to be able to showcase the beautiful CPO building once again and give a real sense of place to the fantastic Te Komititanga plaza.”

© Scoop Media