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Concept
Australia Post
Summary
Australia Post, formally the Australian Postal Corporation, is the government business enterprise that provides postal services in Australia. The head office of Australia Post is located in Bourke Street, Melbourne, which also serves as a post office.
Australia Post is the successor of the Postmaster-General's Department, which was established at federation in 1901 as the successor to colonial post services. In 1975, the department was abolished and its postal functions were taken over by the Australian Postal Commission. The organisation's current name and structure were adopted in 1989 as part of a process of corporatisation.
Before colonial control of mail started in 1809, mail was usually passed on by ad hoc arrangements made between transporters, storekeepers and settlers. These arrangements were flexible, and inherently unstable. It was common for early settlers to ride many miles out of their way to deliver neighbours' mail that had been collected from informal distribution points.
The first organisation of a postal service in Australia commenced in 1809 with the appointment in Sydney of the first postmaster. An English ex-convict, Isaac Nichols, took the post operating from his home in George Street, Sydney. His main job was to take charge of letters and parcels arriving by ship, to avoid the chaos of people rushing aboard ships as soon as they arrived at Sydney's wharves. Nichols would pick up the mail and post a list of recipients outside his house. He would advertise in the Sydney Gazette the names of all those who received mail. Recipients paid a fixed price of one shilling per letter to collect mail from Nichols' home, with parcels costing more depending on how heavy they were. VIP addressees were afforded personal delivery by Nichols.
Between 1812 and 1842, postmasters were also appointed in Tasmania (1812), Western Australia (1829), Victoria (1836), South Australia (1837) and Queensland (1842). Settlements outside of the postmasters' domain were serviced by contractors on horsebacks or in coaches.
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