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Australia Post – Post Office Film (1942)

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clip Removal of the columns

This clip chosen to be G

Clip description

This unedited mute, black-and-white footage shows the columns of the Sydney GPO clock tower being removed in 1942.

Curator’s notes

by Adrienne Parr

In this clip the crew is seen removing columns from the clock tower, and the internal staircase is eventually exposed. The workers ride the pillars as they’re lifted by crane through the air and they balance, unaided by harnesses, on the edges of scaffolding. The clip guarantees a case of heartburn for anyone involved in occupational health and safety.

Once the sandstone blocks and pillars, and the cornices and scrollwork, were removed, they were stacked in the open yard of the post office. There, the media of the day came to view proceedings. Reportedly there were 811 individual parts, weighing over 1,500 tonnes. While the clock and bells were stored elsewhere, the masonry and ironwork went to the Maroubra Telephone Exchange for safekeeping.

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australianscreen is produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. By using the website you agree to comply with the terms and conditions described elsewhere on this site. The NFSA may amend the 'Conditions of Use’ from time to time without notice.

All materials on the site, including but not limited to text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, illustrations and still images, are protected by the Copyright Laws of Australia and international conventions.

When you access australianscreen you agree that:

  • You may retrieve materials for information only.
  • You may download materials for your personal use or for non-commercial educational purposes, but you must not publish them elsewhere or redistribute clips in any way.
  • You may embed the clip for non-commercial educational purposes including for use on a school intranet site or a school resource catalogue.
  • The National Film and Sound Archive’s permission must be sought to amend any information in the materials, unless otherwise stated in notices throughout the Site.

All other rights reserved.

ANY UNAUTHORISED USE OF MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY RESULT IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY.

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