Restoration of the stonework facade of Rockhampton's Heritage Post Office, now owned by CQU, is expected to start by July this year.

In November 2006, expert stonemasons, working with Rockhampton's Bauhinia Architects and Andrew Ladley Heritage Architect, undertook a full clean of the former Rockhampton Post Office's sandstone façade.

A low-pressure hose was used on the brittle stone to remove mould, graffiti and loose stones, and gave the stonemasons a clear look at the extent of the work to be undertaken in 2007 for CQU.

A trial repair of one section of stone was also completed.

The solid splendour of the grand heritage-listed building on the corner of East and Denham Streets in the centre of the city belies the age and relative fragility of the sandstone that makes up the façade.

The delicate restorative exercise aims to replace damaged and worn stone with new stone, matching it from the same quarry near Stanwell that supplied the original sandstone known as Capricorn Buff.

CQU's Division of Facilities Management is now completing design and documentation for the next stage of the project to restore the stone facade.

These repairs are expected to commence by July this year and will take approximately 7 months to complete.