On Monday, May 17, the new Pilliga Post Office was officially opened.
The establishment has moved from 92 Dangar Street, just down the road to number 23.
The Post Office will be merging with Pilliga Café, which stands at this address.
Greater trading hours and new service capabilities have accompanied the move.
The outlet will now operate from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, which gives locals an additional four hours past the old closing time of 1pm to access the business. Additional services are also now available to the community, including banking capabilities through Bank@Post and Post BillPay.
These changes come after the current licensee, Merle Wooldridge, announced her retirement.
She, along with the help of her late husband, managed the outlet for just shy of half a century.
Ms Wooldridge still recalls challenging times in the area, like when flooding meant that mail had to be helicoptered in to meet SES boats that transported the letters and packages to the Post
Office. Before stepping into the licensee role, she worked in the back of the Post Office for six years on the telephone exchange.
Ms Wooldridge has a lot of fond memories from her time working in the Post Office and says the friendly faces around the local area made it all worth it.
“My favourite part of the job has been ensuring the Pilliga community always gets their mail,” she said.
“And I’m most proud of the quality of the Post Office’s book and record keeping, which allowed me to make sure everything was accounted for and balanced.”
Over 20 students and teachers from Pilliga Public School gathered to witness the ribbon cutting, thanking and farewelling Ms Wooldridge on the day.
Elaine Refikogullari will be stepping up as the new Post Office licensee.
She says she’s keen to continue building on the legacy Ms Woolridge has established.
“I’m also excited to be able to offer the community additional products and services that weren’t possible in the past,” Ms Refikogullari said.
Australia Post area manager, Daniel Ford, and network manager, Greg Dekort, attended the the handover.
“I’d like to welcome Elaine to the Post Office family, we look forward to continuing to support her as she expands and grows the postal services in the community. And I’d also like to thank Merle for the support she has provided Pilliga and wish her the very best in retirement.”
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