Two hundred years ago today, Australia’s first Postmaster collected 36 letters which had just arrived from England marking the beginning of Australia’s oldest continually operating commercial organisation, Australia Post.

The first Postmaster was Isaac Nichols, a former convict who had arrived on the Second Fleet. He was appointed in 1809 because letters and parcels were being stolen from ships arriving at the port of Sydney.

“Life was often bleak and lonely for the first settlers as they waited for news from home. It would often be months before a ship was sighted offshore which was enough to create pandemonium on the wharves,” said Australia Post Managing Director, Graeme John.

From linking the colonies to distant Europe, forging overland mail routes and building the nation’s communications infrastructure, the postal service has left an indelible impression on Australia.

“The postal service of today is something the outback mailman of the 19th century could never have imagined. The scale of what we do and how we do it has changed so dramatically,” said Mr John.

“Today, we serve around a million customers in our postal outlets every day, deliver mail to 10.5 million addresses across Australia and last year carried 5.6 billion mail items.

“With the growth in online shopping and international logistics, Australia Post is continually evolving to meet the challenges of a new era of international commerce.”

Australia Post operates the largest retail network in the country with 4,453 outlets and 2,561of those are in regional and remote areas.

“We are there for Australians, providing a range of services such as banking and ensuring we are all connected across this huge continent,” said Mr John.
 

 Australia Post’s 200th birthday celebrations will include a historical re-enactment of the first bag of mail being delivered from England via a tall ship and the Harbour Bridge will fly an Australia Post flag over the weekend.

“We want to say thank you to all our staff who have worked for Australia Post and the Australian public for supporting us for so long,” Mr John said.

To find out more on how you can celebrate with Australia Post simply go to www.auspost.com.au/200years.

For further information, please contact:
Alex Twomey 03 9204 5362

• 2009