Walgett Post Office

The first Walgett Post Office, sometimes called “Wallgett”, was established on 1 July 1851, when “the part-time Postmaster, Mr F Moran, received a yearly allowance of ten pounds (₤10).

The Postmaster in Walgett in 1879, was George Stephen Hay who recommended that 12 private boxes be provided at the delivery window of the proposed new building, the tender for which
made by D Edwards had been accepted.  The amount tendered was two thousand ((₤2,000), which included installation of a 10,000 gallon tank.  The building was completed in twelve months.

The new building was commenced in 1881 and occupied on 1 May 1882 and extra work completed by
6 July,1883, when records revealing the postal service had been conducted in premises rented for thirty pounds (₤30) per annum, opposite the Government Reserve.

 (Courtesy of the Late Bill Weate)

(ps  This building also housed the manual telephone exchange in latter years and two public telephone boxes at the end of the building.  The floor of these were “floating”, but when a caller went into the booth to make a phone call, the floating floor was pressed down by the caller’s weight, engaging the telephone service.

This Post Office had the most magnificent serving counter running the whole length of the building, made of beautiful timber and stained.  The counter would have been 120 cms or more wide.  There was an old time set of scales to weigh the parcels and open ‘cages” behind the counter into which mail was sorted.)”

The present Walgett Post Office was officially opened on 30 June 1969, by Mr R J Hunt, Federal Member for Gwydir and this stands beside the previous post office now used as a commercial premises.