More Info →A Colour Postcard of The Square

This colour postcard looks across The Square towards Main Street East. The two-storey building with a tower is the old Post Office. Built in 1906, the Post Office was Palmerston North’s fourth. Due to the risks in an earthquake, the clock tower was removed in 1942. They were re-purposed for the Hopwood Clock Tower. In 1988, when Telecom and Postbank became separate entities, the building ceased to be the Post Office. The rotunda centre left of the postcard is the original structure - it was built in 1899 and moved to the Victoria Esplanade in 1907 to make way for a larger rotunda. The second rotunda was demolished in 1956 to make way for the Hopwood Clock Tower. Behind the rotunda is the train line that ran through the Square until after the Milson Deviation was completed in 1959. In 1964 the last passenger train ran through the Square and the tracks were removed. The spire on the far right is that of the Catholic Church, situated in Broad Street.