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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: MAIL (02/18/16)
THE POSTMAN'S WHISTLE

The postman's whistle in Australian towns and cities caused dogs to bark and housewives to come out to see what the postie brought them, and often have a brief chat. My daughter's late father-in-law rode a push-bike as postie. Now posties have mini motor bikes; first introduced in 1030 to deliver telegrams. The whistle was stopped in 1980's maybe because the postie did not want to be bitten by a dog. It was caused by the union worrying that the postie may cut his lips or get germs from unhygienic mail.

There is talk of restricting the delivery of mail to three days a week because of the inroads of internet mail. This has also caused less stamps to be available for stamp collectors.

In my childhood on a bush farm we had to walk two miles to a neighbours to collect the mail delivered once a week. Mother would push the baby in a push chair and the older ones had to walk.
Later the mail was delivered on horseback by a neighbour's wife from an adjoining farm. Finally before my parents retired from the farm, my father had to ride three miles to another mailbox for the weekly mail and grocery parcel. You can be sure they looked forward to this connection with the outside world. When I married another farmer we drove to the village post office for a weekday mail collection.

Nowadays my mail is left at the office of my retirement accommodation and distributed by the staff. I have the reputation of receiving the most mail in the institution. I also receive emails in this modern method of communication that is superseding snail mail. I can shop by mail order and have exciting parcels delivered instead of trudging wearily around the shops looking for bargains. I love to receive goods in flat packs to put together, and try on my new clothes.

There is an interesting article on Google about the history of Australia's mail system which commenced in 1809. Here are some highlights. Prepaid adhesive stamps were introduced in the states in the 1850's. In 1872 the overland telegraph from Adelaide to Darwin, and then through sea cable connected Australia to the outside world. The first domestic airmail service commenced in Western Australia in 1921, and from Europe to Australia in1934. The first Australian kangaroo and map stamp started in1912. Christmas stamps started in Australia in 1957 and still continue. From 1999 bar codes helped the machine sorting of letters and parcels. Look up Google for more interesting in formation.

Words Paul wrote or dictated others to write many documents on papyrus, to encourage early Christians. Trusted friends carried them to the recipients as early mail carriers. Because of them, we still have them translated into our mother tongues today.

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This article has been read 514 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Ruth Walker
02/28/16
As I read this, I asked myself what genre you were writing in. I imagined it might be submitted to a newspaper as a reader's contribution to history. As such, it was informative while personable.
Perhaps strength would be added with a more purposeful ending, so that it is not merely a round-up of interesting facts & personal anecdotes, but comes to a conclusion. Eg. Something about the reliance we have on one another to pass on our messages.
Oh, and since you're obviously interested in mail & stamps, I have a profoundly deaf nephew who is employed by Australia Post to sort parcels. They have excellent disability support policies.
Pat Small
02/29/16
I agree with the other reader's comments. I couldn't really see a purpose in the story which was more like an encyclopedia entry than anything I could think of.
Bonnie Bowden 
03/03/16
Your article had some interesting facts. It sounds like the postal service needed to stop using the whistle, but I never thought of mail as such a social activity.

You might want to put the sources you used while researching after your article.