Tenterfield Post Office will be first location to boast the effects of the National Monument Project, with the iconic building considered an important anchor point of the proposed tourism precinct that seeks to embrace and extol the town's federation history.
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Funding for the post office facelift is connected to although not part of the $700,000 bushfire/drought recovery funding dedicated to the project, for which expressions of interest from CBD landholders have just closed. Any funding left over from the post office restoration, however, will be diverted to that project, Tenterfield Shire councillor Bronwyn Petrie said.
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The post office's town clock recently received a $16,000 makeover so that the chimes are now back in operation. Councillors allocated a further $45,000 towards cosmetic enhancement of the exterior of the building, only to be informed that this would barely paint the first level.
Funding was therefore boosted with an additional $100,000, with any excess going to the National Monument Project. Local builder Dave Brown and his crew have been contracted to undertake the refurbishment which includes painting the exterior and repairs to the west-facing windows.
Cr Petrie said the building has a lot to back its claim as a feature of the planned tourism precinct given its history. It used to house both NSW and Queensland postmasters with very distinct working areas.
"Mail was postmarked by one postmaster, and then had to pass across to the other side of the room to be postmarked by the other state," she said.
"It was also the destination of Australia's first official airmail delivery, the place where state border customs and taxes were collected, and even the site of a rally of Queenslanders barred from returning home during the Spanish Flu a century ago."
She's keen to see the building returned to its original glory. While a significant portion of council's recovery funding has been allocated to helping to restore privately-held buildings to their federation state, Cr Petrie said this a vital component of making Tenterfield a tourism destination, particularly in light of the proposed highway bypass.
"It also provides an opportunity for our tradespeople to get more heritage and restoration training and experience, while keeping the grant money in local circulation.
"We want to make Tenterfield a destination to stay in and then get visitors out into other parts of the shire, whereas 90 per cent of trade at the moment is stop-and-shop.
"The more attractive we can make it, the better."
She is putting out a call for locals to do some detective work and dig through their old family photos for evidence of building facades of the time, potentially in the background of a family snap, and provide copies to the Monument's committee chaired by Cr Greg Sauer.
"It's a starting point and it would be good to get the detail. We need those photos that I know are out there."
While it will take a lot more money to complete the National Monument Project, Cr Petrie said the post office is a great start and will act as a showcase in improving the look of the CBD, making it easier to secure more grant money down the track.
