Chief Postmaster’s Last Day

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31018, 25 March 1966, Page 17

Chief Postmaster’s Last Day

A Post Office career which began as a savings bank cadet at Hastings in 1926 ends today for the Christchurch Chief Postmaster (Mr J. W. Lincoln).

Mr Lincoln is one of the “big six” who are about to retire from the postal service.

The others are the DirectorGeneral (Mr J. Darned!), the Deputv Director-General (Mr E. S. Doak), the Directar of Finance and Savings Banks (Mr H. W. Hay), and the Chief Postmasters of Auckland and Wellington. For Mr Lincoln retirement will first bring an extended holiday which will take him around the world for the rest of the year and include a visit to the English town of Lincoln, the home of his forbears.

Since his appointment as chief postmaster two and a half years ago he has been in charge of a staff of 2000 people who run 145 post offices serving 250,000 people. He has opened nine new post offices in the city and district to meet the needs of a quickly-growing population and has held a variety of positions in other organisations considered to be useful connexions with the postal service. Mr Lincoln had his sights set on electrical engineering when he started wort, but once he bad passed tbe matriculation examination Lis future became bound to the clerical branch of tbe Post Office. It wm not until 1953 that any significant post came his way and this, be said, seemed to underline the pattern of the old days, slow and difficult promotion. Several of bis senior appointments—accountant and manager of the savings bank land deputy chief postmaster

—were in Christchurch before he finally reached his retiring position. Mr Lincoln has seen postal accounting move from the age-old manual system of addition “when every employee was an expert at adding figures,” to the swift efficiency of adding machines, Which in turn will soon be replaced by the computer.

Mr Lincoln believes the Post Office has attained a high standard of service in spite of the crttiidsm levelled at it from a demanding public.

Photograph shows Mr Lincoln at Us desk yesterday on the eve of Ms retirement.