“Get up and have a go” – 81-year-old Pilliga Post Office licensee Merle Wooldridge shares words of wisdom

Eighty-one-year-old Pilliga Post Office licensee Merle Wooldridge has shared some words of wisdom with The Courier and the Wee Waa News about her secrets to staying fit and healthy.

“Working occupies my mind, it keeps me going,” said Mrs Wooldridge who is back behind the post office counter five days a week after a short break due to COVID-19 precautions.

Mrs Wooldridge said keeping busy is her secret to staying sharp and sprightly.

“Working honestly does keep me going.

“I’ll be 82 in February next year, so I’m about 81-and-a-half now and working here keeps me occupied.

“If I’m not at the post office then I’m in the garden with a shovel.”

Mrs Wooldridge is a self-described ‘lady of the land’ and her motto in life is – ‘get up and have a go’.

“There’s no point in sitting back and sulking,” added Mrs Wooldridge who also proudly added that she’s a trained wool classer.

Gary Wooldridge with his mother Merle Wooldridge and pet dog Trixie. Gary Wooldridge with his mother Merle Wooldridge and pet dog Trixie.

Pilliga Post Office licensee Merle Wooldridge. Pilliga Post Office licensee Merle Wooldridge.

Born Merle Currey, Mrs Wooldridge grew up on a farm near Pilliga named ‘Mervyndale’.

In 1961 she married the love of her life, the late Ron Wooldridge, and the couple also lived at ‘Mervyndale’ before moving to Pilliga.

‘Mervyndale’ is where the Wooldridges raised their two children Gary and Janelle.

Sadly Mr Wooldridge died in 2007 but Mrs Wooldridge is resilient and she’s persevered with keeping the post office ticking along.

“I’m off the land and I’m an outdoor person,” said Mrs Wooldridge.

“I’ve been through the drought in 1964 and I had two lamb bars.

“In the end, I think I raised close to 200 lambs over that period.”

Mrs Wooldridge has now been running the Pilliga Post Office for more than three decades and has witnessed many parcel collections and letter postings including a delivery of queen bees in a package.

Mrs Wooldridge said her husband’s original plan was to run the post office for a “short time”.

“And I’m still here,” added Mrs Wooldridge.

“It’s getting on close to 30 odd years but probably 40 years in this stint.

“I did six and three-quarter years down at what was the Pilliga Post office and is now the Pilliga café,” said Mrs Wooldridge.

“I worked down there on the night exchange, each alternate week I slept down there.”

Mrs Wooldridge said she has experienced many things throughout her life but said the coronavirus pandemic has been “horrible”.

“I stayed in the garden, inside the fence but we have been safe here.”

Wee Waa Post Office serviced the town of Pilliga when COVID-19 restrictions were tight and Mrs Wooldridge wasn’t able to go to work.

“I’ve been a little bit lost coming back because I’ve been off for close to three months but I’m gradually getting back into it.

“I like the people coming in, this would normally be packed with people coming in.”

Mrs Wooldridge still operates a manual post office and is currently being assisted by her son Gary.

“I handwrite the parcels in a book, it’s not computerised.

“I think I would retire and spend more time in the garden if they made me go online.

“I’ve got to be doing things, I get bored otherwise.

“I get out in the garden even when I’m sick. I think it’s because I grew up on a farm.”

For now, Mrs Wooldridge is happy serving people at the post office counter.

“I like working here because I like helping people.

“I’ve always wanted to help people, I’m a bit like my mother and father.

“Mum lived until she was 95 and she was always helping people, I’m just following in her footsteps.”