Restoring History

Sitting at the entrance of Jack River couple, Rob and Renae Long’s property, is what is thought to be what was once the smallest Post Office in Australia.

The Jack River Post Office, 10 minutes south west of Yarram, measures just 2.4 metres by 3 metres. 

It was built between 1914 -15 and closed in 1959.

The post mistress was Maggie Murphy.

As well as being post mistress, Mrs Murphy also operated the local telephone switchboard. 

She was a forward thinker and had a public telephone installed around 1920.

The Longs plan to restore this quaint little building back to its original state and open the historical landmark up to the public.

Some of the old weather boards have been replaced over time with more modern pine boards.  Rob intends to replace these with weather boards from the old Exhibition shed at the Yarram Show grounds with is being demolished.

Inside the tiny space, the original pigeonholes and the mail shoot all remain as does the remnants of some old calendars stuck on the back of the door.

The Longs say that it will not take long to complete the renovations because the building is so small.

Once all the building works are done, they will stock the former post office with their own Jack River Produce which is all grown and made on their farm.

Since coming to the area, Rob and Renae have involved themselves in the local community. 

They ran the local wine bar in Yarram before Covid struck. Rob is a leader with the local scout’s group, and they supply their local produce to many of the local café.

They hope that by restoring a little piece of the local history it will give back to the community who have welcomed them with open arms. 

Now a few months down the track………………………..

POSTING A NEW LEASE ON HISTORY

The project to restore the old Jack River Post Office is now completed and owners Rob and Renae Long are looking forward to opening their road side store  to the public on  Thursday November 5.

There will no pigeonholes for mail anymore, instead shelves filled with the own yummy Jack River Produce including jams, jellies and sour dough bread and fresh eggs 

“We will also have a range of sour dough pizzas and I have had a lot of enquires about our lasagne so I am guessing they will make and appearance as well,” Renae said.

“The produce is made here on our property from ingredients we grow, so it will be produce from our house to yours,” she said.

“We will also have home grown raw honey.”

They will also be stocking Gippsland Jersey milk which will be delivered to the little shop.

While the restoration  has taken a little longer than first anticipated but the results are impressive.

“The building was virtually rotting into the dirt,” Rob said. “we salvaged weather board from the old Exhibition shed at the Yarram Recreation Reserve to replace those that had rotted away, and we have put a new fence up.

“We have tried to keep it as original as possible,” he said.

Renae and Rob have done a lot of research on their little old post office and they have not been able to find a smaller one anywhere in Australia. 

The old post office measures just 2mtrs x 3 mtrs. 

Back when it was a functioning Post Office it was the communication hub of Jack River; it housed the telephone exchange as well as the post office.

The Longs are planning to open their little roadside store from Thursday to Sunday at this stage and other times by appointment.