Hororata Historic Walking Tour
#10 The Post Office
A post office was opened in Thorne’s cottage beside the blacksmith’s shop in 1873. The coach and mail service ran from the Selwyn to Windwhistle, stopping at Derrett’s Hotel and Thorne’s twice weekly, mail arriving by horse and cart from the railway station at Coalgate morning and evening.
The veranda became a meeting place for locals debating waiting for mail. One pensioner would ask the mailman every day while looking at his huge pocket watch, “What would be the Coalgate time, Walter?” Next stop: The Blacksmith's Shop |