SPEEDY DELIVERY OF MAIL IS POSTMAN’S JOB

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26792, 8 June 1948, Page 4

SPEEDY DELIVERY OF MAIL IS POSTMAN’S JOB

The cheerful sound of the postman's whistle brightens the morning for most housewives and the arrival of a letter is always an oasis in the desert of household chores. Like most other providers of service the postman is, however, rarely honoured by more than a fleeting place in the thoughts of the recipients of communications whether welcome or otherwise. An average postman in. Dunedin walks 50 miles each week on his eight or nine mile round, spends far more time than is generally supposed checking up incorrectly or inadequately addressed letters, blows his whistle several hundred times a day, does his round in rain, snow or drizzle an average of 180 times each year, has his shoes repaired about three times as frequently as any other citizen, and delivers mail to between 550 and 650 households. Dunedin is the only place of its size in the Dominion where there is no decentralisation in the matter of mail deliveries. Every letter delivered in the city and suburbs passes through the Chief Post Office and all 43 men and women who deliver mail each day start out from this office. The postman (or woman) starts his (or her) duties at 7.30 each morning by sorting letters into pigeon-holes labelled with the names of - streets in the area covered by the individual round. When this has been done the letters are sorted into their correct order to save time on the round. Once these bundles are ready and placed in the

huge leather bag which is the envy of most schoolboys, the postman is ready to start on his long walk. „ Bicycles in the Dunedin post office are the means of transport cff telegraph boys. The hardy mail deliverers rely on their feet. The reason for dispensing with this popular type of transport for postmen is mat, m Dunedin, every member of the staff can catch a tram or bus within a few yards of the office and ride to some point on his round. No one ever sees a postman pay his fare, but the department has a contract with the transport authorities and the postman does not' travel free. The worst problem for the postman is provided by the people who fail to address their letters correctly. The most common instance of this fault is the non-inclusion of street numbers when addressing envelopes. This is where the memory of the postman is put to the test and where his motto of “ speedy delivery" sometimes breaks down. The postal designations N.W.I and the like are also important as there are numerous names of streets duplicated in the city. The personal cor'act which used to exist between the postman and the householder has disappeared to a large extent because of the placing of letter boxes at front gates. The postman's lot Is, therefore, less frequently cheered by a few remarks or the offer of a cup of tea. The tradition of speed and service is, however, well maintained and Dunedin's postmen are entitled at the end of each year to look back on the 2500 miles they have walked with satisfaction at a job well' done.