CHRISTMAS AT POST OFFICE

Taranaki Daily News, 21 December 1929, Page 12

CHRISTMAS AT POST OFFICE

OFFICIALS WORK DOUBLE SHIFTS. With all officials on double shifts, the Christmas rush at the New Plymouth chief post office commenced suddenly at. about 10.30 o’clock yesterday morning and promises to increase steadily up to Christmas Eve. . The Friday influx of country people into the town and the paying of milk cheques are probably reasons for the sudden expansion of business. Work was much the same as usual early yesterday morning, but soon crowds in increasing numbers began to arrive and it was not long before the mail-room counter had to be reinforced. Had the English Christmas mail,, arrived within a day or two of Christmas instead of last Monday, the week would have been much heavier. As matters were, the mail was all sorted on Tuesday. Nevertheless, the New Zealand mails are now exceedingly heavy and the post office staff did well to have the postmen on the roads on time yesterday morning. It may not be possible to have the men out as early as usual during the next few days. Little difference to the amount of work is made by the Australian Christmas mail, which is never very heavy.

While Christmas cards seem to be going out of fashion, the number of parcels and packets is very large this year. The postmaster (Mr. A. Shelton) can remember the time when, after the Christmas rush, the mail rooms in post offices used to be covered with a coating of tinsel dust which had dropped in lilttle pieces off the thousands of gay Christmas cards handled. But now it is changed and to-day three vans,-two working double shifts, were needed to deliver parcels, a job that in the ordinary course of events is accomplished by one van. While telegraphic work has increased by about 25 per cent, or 100 messages a day each way, their big rush will not come until Monday and more particularly Tuesday niglit. The fact that the paying of pensions started yesterday, three days earlier than last year, has made the post office work much heavier for the time being.