Ray White Real Estate applies to change Goulburn Evening Penny Post sign

J Gay Properties bought the building at 199 Auburn Street from Australian Community Media in early 2020. The Goulburn Post relocated to 2/31 Clinton Street in November, 2021. The purchaser has painted the exterior and undertaken an extensive internal refurbishment since.

If planners' recommendation is accepted, the Goulburn Evening Penny Post sign and an 1870 date below will be painted over in white and Ray White's inserted on top, covering the original. A report stated this would allow it to be preserved and restored in future if needed.

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Consultants lodged a development application for signage and internal fit-out to the Auburn Street office in October, 2021. In part, it seeks to install Ray White business signage, covering the Goulburn Evening Penny Post (GEPP) sign. It also aims to remove two internal walls.

However the proposed signage change, hiding the name of the 152-year-old newspaper, has attracted the most interest, including reaction from former Goulburn Post editors.

Ray White consultant, Monique Grashorn of Monique Building Design, stated in a submission that the owner had no objection to maintaining the original (Art Deco) facade but it would be "confusing for the town and those looking for the...now Goulburn Post premises."

"...The signage was upgraded in 1993 when the building had a major unsympathetic internal renovation and restoration to the external facade," she wrote.

"It may be similar to the original but it is not the original signage...The signage has evolved and changed throughout the years from the Penny Post to the Goulburn Post and Goulburn Evening Penny Post (sic)."

But seven of the nine public submissions opposed the move, while advocating awning level business promotion.

Several challenged the consultant's claims that the current signage was not original, pointing to a major 1993 renovation which uncovered the GEPP name on the facade.

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A former editor who worked at The Post at the time said then general manager Elizabeth Poate replicated the building's 1935 appearance, based on historical photos.

"The building has undergone renovations over the years," the submission stated.

"Contrary to the DA's heritage impact statement, the current sign has always been retained throughout building changes. There is a confusing photo (reproduced in the statement) of the 1993 renovation which depicts the building without signage.

"I can unequivocally state that that the lettering is nevertheless there and the current signage was carefully retraced over the pattern of the original signage as the then owner, Macquarie Publications, sought to restore the building in keeping with the heritage. In fact, throughout the renovations the original lettering, though faint, has been reproduced. The 1993 renovation was meticulous in restoring the building (to what) you see today."

Former photojournalist, Leon Oberg, who worked at The Post for 46 years from 1964 also said the original signage was exposed in 1993 and an "expensive light" sourced for the beacon on top of the building.

On Saturday, Mrs Poate also said that the original signage, already on the building, was restored in 1993. The heritage adviser at the time, John Armes, was consulted as part of this process.

"We took it back to what it was - an Art Deco building that housed the newspaper - regardless of the entity that owned the building," she said.

"It was not about Macquarie Publications (which owned it at the time) or (former owners) Daniel Brothers, but about the newspaper."

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Mrs Poate said she and others went to some lengths to ensure a faithful restoration, including sourcing 1930s style foyer lights from Sydney and commissioning locally made timber counters.

She argued the Ray White signage did not complement the building and didn't comply with the council's policy for signs in the heritage conservation area. Further, she said painting over the GEPP name did little to conserve the history.

Mrs Poate also disagreed with the consultant that the 1870 date, and not the GEPP sign, was more significant to the site.

"It was the newspaper's home for 150 years and it is a good example of the architecture of the 1930s. A yellow logo would be a tacky addition," she said.

However a statement of heritage impact said the signage was "in proportion" with the heritage facade, would not visually impact the streetscape and would complement other surrounding signs."

"(The) proposed works will have a positive impact on the Goulburn community and ensure the significance of the GEPP will be shown through the establishment date (1870) within the existing art deco facade," the document stated.

Despite this, a separate document lodged with the DA proposed replacing the 1870 date with 'Est 1903,' relating to the Ray White business.

The council's heritage adviser, David Hobbes, said this was "not appropriate" as it 'overrode' the newspaper's long history in the building. He recommended it be painted over along with the GEPP sign and Ray White's be placed over it, allowing the former "to be restored at a future date if the tenancy changes."

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Mr Hobbes also stated that it "appeared" the upper GEPP signage was affixed during the 1993 renovations but the 'Est 1870' was from an earlier time.

"Other photographic evidence suggests that the lettering has changed several times over the life of the building. The current lettering is not an intrinsic feature of the 1930s facade," he wrote.

But a former editor's submission argued the lettering was only adapted as the masthead's name changed over the years. The GEPP sign remained etched in the facade throughout.

Planners' report also stated the building's significance "mostly lay" in the Art Deco facade and "the site was not the original site for the Goulburn Evening Penny Post."

However rate records show and Tazewell's book Grand Goulburn reveals that the newspaper shifted 100 metres on Auburn Street to the current 199 Auburn Street in 1871.

Ms Grashorn said a historic plaque recognising the newspaper's history would be retained on the building's frontage.

"Although some find it difficult to adapt to change, there is significance in drawing a line in what was the past and moving forward in the future," she wrote.

Ms Grashorn also stated the building had been "left to deteriorate" and the new owner wanted to sympathetically restore it inside and out while "keeping it practical for business use."

Another submitter lauded the work to date as a "fine example of heritage restoration and corporate signage coexisting in a harmonious way."

"This is a win for both heritage renewal and economic development," the submission stated.

Former Goulburn Post editor John Thistleton maintains there's room for compromise.

"Goulburn Mulwaree Council must ensure the Goulburn Evening Penny Post remains visible in Auburn Street, a significant heritage precinct. The sign and building are a unique link to Australia's most important literary award, the Miles Franklin Award, because the editor, Thomas Hebblewhite, was Stella 'Miles' Franklin's early mentor who set the novice author's focus on what she knew best," her said.

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"The newspaper's role in the wool industry, 1962 school strike and numerous other facets of Goulburn's developments must be preserved and respected, not hidden by a sign. Ray White can still enjoy a prominently sign-posted street level-presence without hiding the GEPP sign.

"Goulburn's future is in its past, a fact emphatically demonstrated last year when the council stopped the redevelopment of 22 Hurst Street. That leadership and confidence in Goulburn's distinctive qualities are needed again in our main street."

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