History falling apart

WHILE Bendigo and Ballarat have a wealth of buildings from the 1800s, there are too few left standing in Geelong.

That is why debate about the future of the city’s old post office (opened in 1891) is important, and possibly explains why the issue has tied the local council in knots.

The City of Greater Geelong was effectively gifted the historic building in the 1990s. Officially, council bought the building from the State Government for $670,000, but the terms of the sale meant the interest-free loan had no repayment terms.

Now, 25 years later, the City has yet to pay a cent of that loan.

It now knows it won’t have to pay the money back even if it does sell the building. Instead, it will be allowed to use the sum to restore Osborne House.

That’s what the officers at Geelong City Hall want to do.

They put plans to sell the post office to the elected councillors last year, but a definitive decision was baulked.

Now the sale is back on the agenda, literally.

While many people have lobbied for CoGG to keep the building and seek grants to develop it, the officers say their Budget is too tight, especially with rate-capping.

Tellingly, a report for this week’s meeting notes the possible future uses of the post office “do not currently align” with CoGG’s stated priorities.

While the building still looks grand and impressive from the outside, it’s rotting from within.

CoGG no longer risks sending office workers in there because of its disrepair, and last year councillors were told it would cost almost $4 million to upgrade the building into a workable, modern office.

With CoGG deep into planning a $90 million headquarters nearby, that’s unlikely to happen. It seems CoGG lacks the will and means to restore the post office. In its hands, the building could simply slip further into disrepair.

So, it makes sense to see what buyers are out there, with conditions attached to the sale. The PO deserves an owner that will respect and care for it, and has an interest in celebrating and sharing its historic qualities.