End of an era as Barooga postmaster set to retire

It has been a 55-year journey.

Max’s time in the postal service began before there was even a dedicated post office in Barooga. He helped his mother, Mavis, who worked at the post office, which was located in a general store next to the current Barooga post office, while also working as a mail contractor.

“I did a country mail run for 28 years,” Max said.

Max’s mother worked for more than half a century in the postal service and was awarded a certificate by the Australia Post general manager for her service.

When his mum retired in 1993, Max took over her position and continued to run the Barooga post office, which by this time had moved to its current location.

A regular day for Max begins at 6.30am, and by 7.15am, the mail from all the areas is being sorted.

Once sorted, the rest of the day is spent servicing his customers.

“We open at 8.30am for service to people who work in Cobram,” Max said.

“It’s so they (the customers) don’t have to come back at lunchtime or another time to pick up their parcels; they can pick them up on their way to work. We give them a bit of extra service.”

Barooga hasn’t got its own postman; instead, people go to the post office to receive their letters and parcels.

In the early days, Max dealt with roughly 40 private mailboxes; now, he has more than 440, and the number of over-the-counter customers has increased from 450 to 550.

The set-up has its benefits; Max hears all the town gossip, though he said he couldn’t discuss it with anyone.

Max said it was the people who made his day worthwhile.

“The job is very good, and there are marvellous people here,” he said.

“I’m going to miss not talking to them (my customers) every day and interacting with everybody.”

When he retires, Max and his wife plan to visit their daughter, who lives in Queensland.

As for a message to the townspeople and customers of the Barooga post office, Max said their support was invaluable.

“The townspeople have always been with us through thick and thin, and my wife and I are grateful for friendship and support over the years,” Max said.

The Stewards’ last day of work at the post office is Friday, March 1.