Explore - Manawatū Heritage

Plan for Palmerston North Post Office

This plan for the new Palmerston North Post Office was designed by the architect Joshua Charlesworth (1861-1925) for the Public Works Department in 1903. The original plan is held by Archives New Zealand as part of the contract file for the agreem...

Creator: Joshua Charlesworth
Date: 1903

"Christmas Mail Rush"

This image was taken for a story that ran in The Manawatu Evening Standard on 19 December 1962, "Twenty-five extra staff are at present helping the terrific flow of Christmas mail in the mail-room of the Palmerston North Post Office. There are si...

Creator:      Manawatu Evening Standard
Place:          Main Street, Palmerston North
Date:          December 19, 1962

Palmerston North Post Office, with five flags flying

The large Union Jack flag suggests this photograph was taken during either the celebrations for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in June 1953, or during the Royal Visit of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh in January 1954.

Creator: Vera L McLennan-Boman, attributed to
Date: 1953 to 1954

The Square, looking towards Main Street East

This image is believed to have been taken by Palmerston North Engineer Edwin Daniel Berry.

The band rotunda was originally built in The Square in 1898 it was moved to the Esplanade in 1907. In 1966 it was demolished due to its poor state of repair.

Creator:      Berry Family
Place:          Palmerston North
Date:          1898 to 1907

The Square, looking towards Main Street East

This image is believed to have been taken by Palmerston North Engineer Frank (Frances Leslie) Berry.

Taken from the Square, the image depicts the Kosy Theatre which opened in 1915, (a short history of which appears here:

https://manawatuheritage....

Creator:      Berry Family
Place:          The Square, Palmerston North
Date:          1916 to 1918

Post Office Building

This image is believed to have been taken by Palmerston North Engineer Frank (Frances Leslie) Berry.

Designed by J. Charlesworth and built by J. Trevor and Son in 1905, this building served as the Chief Post Office until 1988. In 2025 work began ...

Creator:      Berry Family
Place:          Corner Main Street and the Square, Palmerston North
Date:          1910s

“Post & Telegraph Office” Postcard

This building was Palmerston North’s fourth Post Office, operating from 1906-1988. It was extended towards Broadway and up Main Street in the early 1920s and in 1937. This image must come from 1905, before the clock face had been installed. The cl...

Creator:      Muir and Moodie
Place:          Palmerston North
Date:          circa 1905

"Proclamation of King George V, at Ashurst" [sic]

A group gathering outside the Ashhurst Post Office to hear the proclamation of the accession of George V, who was proclaimed King of the United Kingdom and British Dominons, and Emperor of India, after the death of his father King Edward VII. King...

Date: May 1910

"Reading Proclamation of King George V at Ashurst" [sic]

Date: May 1910

Ashhurst Post Office with Harold Tremewan, telegraph boy

The former Ashhurst Post Office was built in 1897. In October 1991, the building was purchased by the Palmerston North City Council and became a branch of the Palmerston North City Library.

This image is derived from a copy negative made from a ph...

Date: 1900s

Agnes Benson walking past the Post Office in The Square

Agnes Maggy Mary Neish Benson (1882-1968) was the daughter of John and Annie McEwen of Karere. She was educated at Tiakitahuna School, married William James Benson, and had nine children.

This image is derived from a copy negative, made from a pho...

Date: 1940s

View of Main Street from the Hopwood Clock Tower

A view of Main Street from the Hopwood Clock Tower during the early 1960s.

The cleared construction site was to be used for Palmerston North's new 3-storey library on the corner of Main Street and The Square, opposite the Post Office. Constructio...

Creator:      Ian Palmer
Place:          The Square, Palmerston North
Date:          circa July 1963

Postcard of the Post Office, Palmerston North

The photograph for this postcard was taken soon after the opening of the new Palmerston North Post Office in 1906. It was built on the site of previous one, on the corner of Main Street and The Square. The building was later extended along Main St...

Creator:      Muir and Moodie
Place:          Palmerston North
Date:          August 1, 1906

Palmerston North Post Office

This building was Palmerston North’s fourth Post Office, operating from 1906-1988. It was extended towards Broadway and up Main Street in the early 1920s and in 1937. It was originally built with a clock tower but this was removed in 1942 for safe...

Creator:      Joe Greening (Argosy Studios/Argosy Industrial Photos)
Place:          Corner of Main Street East and The Square, Palmerston North
Date:          November 25, 1975

Palmerston North Post Office, Library on The Square

Argosy Studio (Argosy Industrial Photos) was a photography business owned and operated between 1950 and 1980 by Joe Greening (formerly employed by Elmar Studios). Originally located in Broadway, Argosy later moved to Cuba Street on the corner with...

Creator:      Joe Greening (Argosy Studios/Argosy Industrial Photos)
Place:          Main Street East, The Square, Palmerston North
Date:          November 25, 1975

Palmerston North Post Office

Creator:      Joe Greening (Argosy Studios/Argosy Industrial Photos)
Place:          Corner of Main Street East and The Square, Palmerston North
Date:          November 25, 1975

Woodville Post Office

The Woodville Post Office was completed in 1904 and demolished in 1982. It was damaged in the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake and the brickwork from the top storey was removed at that time. The postmaster originally lived in the top storey of the buil...

Creator: Manawatu Evening Standard
Date: July 29, 1981

Looking East across The Square towards Main Street

A view of the Coronation Fountain, with the Chief Post Office behind. The fountain was built in 1902 to mark the coronation of King Edward VII. It was initially located near the centre of Te Marae o Hine, The Square, but was relocated to the north...

Creator: K. H. Shea
Date: circa 1937

The Square

Image likely taken from the C. M. Ross Building, looking across The Square to Church Street.

This slide was likely created by David Evans of the City Council's Planning Office. M D (David) Evans was a planning assistant from 1955 to 1968, Deputy ...

Creator:      D. Evans
Place:          The Square, Palmerston North
Date:          196X/197X

Former Chief Post Office - Partial Demolition

Image showing the partial demolition of the former Chief Post Office (High Flyers/The Daily),

Creator:      Ben Foster
Place:          Main Street
Date:          June 9, 2025

Former Chief Post Office - Partial Demolition

Image showing the partial demolition of the former Chief Post Office (High Flyers/The Daily)

Creator:      Ben Foster
Place:          Main Street
Date:          June 9, 2025

Fountain in The Square

This fountain was located in the western quadrant of The Square - this photograph shows it before the Coronation monument for Edward VII was shifted to sit within the fountain in 1925. The spire on the far left is that of the Catholic Church, then...

Creator:      Unknown
Place:          The Square, Palmerston North
Date:          circa 1906