Almost from the instant our family set foot in Australia, my folks were employed by Australia Post.
Dad was as a postie riding on a rinky dink motorbike while mum sorted letters parcels in one of Canberra’s oldest post offices, looking after all the Parliament House mail. (Saucy!)
Here’s dad, looking dashing in his full postman’s uniform, chest swelling with pride.
Yet, the immature teen in me wanted to hide from the truth and wished my parents weren’t so…you know, “blue collar”.
Anyway, throughout their working life, mum and dad have stayed true to Aussie Post.
Despite switching locations a couple of times, for over 20 years, they’ve both been assigned to the same jobs at the Mail Centre, on night shift. (An easy recipe to make any married couple get stabby).
Being a destitute first year uni student, mum thought she’d do me a favour and submitted my name to work as a Christmas Casual at her workplace. Like mother, like daughter, she also had me apply for the graveyard shift.
“Night shift pay good money! Penalty rates high!” she would try to convince me in her broken English.
And lucky for her, I was accepted.
As part of training, a dozen of us sat in a small room, learning all the postcodes and suburbs of Canberra. Riveting stuff.
Then, sitting in little cubicles with rows of pigeon holes and piles of mock letters with either only the suburb or the postcode written before us, our task was to place them in the appropriate slots as quickly as possible.
The faster you were, the better.
Lightening speed mail sorters! Activate!
Having to work in a place filled with fork lifts, heavy boxes and crates, protective footwear was mandatory. We were all provided a pair of steel capped boots and gee, they were dead sexy!
We would “bundy” in at 10:00pm sharp and work through till 5:45am with 2 x 15 minute breaks and a 30 minute “lunchtime” at 2:30am.
It only took a couple of shifts for me to endure the hard slog and realize how bat shit crazy my parents were to have been doing it for years.
The delegated tasks were brutal. Mentally and physically.
Sitting in a cubicle sorting letters was so mundane, there was the fear of falling asleep at the chair.
The alternative was to on your feet for at least 2 hours sorting big, heavy parcels, tying up the mailbags when full then lugging them onto the huge crates.
Getting home as the sun cracked through the horizon made it awfully difficult to get to sleep. No matter how many blankets I draped over my bedroom windows, the summer heat would seep through, keeping me up.
Sleep deprived from nocturnal hard labour, I was a wreck.
And yet, my mum was right. The money was bloody awesome.
Although, that wasn’t enough for me to stick around.
I ended up doing the nightshift Christmas Casual gig 3 years in a row. My stints were short, approximately 8 to 12 weeks.
My parents on the other hand, are just about to hang up their steel capped boots and have just handed in their resignation, a couple of months shy of Mum’s 80th birthday.
After these experiences, my attitude also changed.
People bag the crap out of Australia Post all the time but I’m glad I did my time there. Not only do I now appreciate what intensive manual work is about, my parents showed me what bloody tough nuts they actually are.
Joining the lovely ladies at The Lounge, hosted this week at Kim’s Falling Face First.
Wow, Grace. Your parents are amazing. I personally think Aus Post are awesome. I’ve only ever had great experiences with them. I can’t imagine how the work has grown exponentially with the advent of online shopping.Whatever to activated almonds – you know how to activate the MAIL. You have lived. xx Kim (Lounge Lizard II)
Our friend has worked for AP for many years – as a Postie – the pay isn’t great but the super and hours are he reckons. He was fast on his run and sometimes only worked 3-4hrs a day for 8hrs pay. Things changed a few yrs ago and he had to stay at the depot.
I worked at Nursing home on nightshift often during my uni days – wiping bums,changing beds and emptying pots, sorting letters would have been better.
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Glad the money was good. To compensate the hours and the abuse generally hurled at all things Aussie Post!
Emily recently posted..I can trip over nothing
The trouble with it all now is that a lot of is automated..at least in QLD. I worked in a small post office and we would get so many letters for a different town because the post codes were so similar and the machines only recognised numbers. They even had a separate section for returns to that town lol! I enjoyed working in the small post office but I couldn’t do it in a big one. There was enough bag lifting in the small town one, I could only imagine how much there is in a large metro sorting centre.
Tegan recently posted..Yes Boss
Ohhhh sorting mail is one my superb skills on my cv, so I could totally do that job! Plus, I love that Postman song, Carpenters version, of course. STOP! Oh yes, wait a minute, Mr Postman!
Ness recently posted..Bogan For Hire
Bloody Tough Nuts – if that isn’t taken as a band name, it’s mine! Loved this post, Grace. Good for you and I promise, I’ll never take a whack at the postal service, again.
Nami recently posted..The Secret Ingredient
Grace I did an Australia Post stint while at uni – it involved counting mail into lots of 50! If only we were still prepared to work as hard as our parents did when they first arrived in this country. Shift work is not for the faint-hearted.
Robomum recently posted..Office Colleagues
Wow that is hard core! They definitely deserve to be paid well! That’s quite a story. xx
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I love Australia Post – I have the best delivery guy ever – he’ll flag me down in other streets to give me my parcel (we’ve done a few roadside transactions now). And order something from America and see how long that takes to turn up?! Then decide if you want to complain about Australia Post! (I could never do night shift – I get too tired)
Lydia C. Lee recently posted..Self-doubt killed more dreams than failure ever did
Mate, that sounds both gruelling and excellent at the same time. I’ve often wanted a job that I didn’t have to think too hard about but I know the novelty would wear off pretty quick and is be bored. I don’t even know if I’d be able to last 12 weeks so good on ya! And how awesome are your parents! Can’t believe your Mum is only just now retiring, what a machine!
Kylez @ A Study in Contradictions recently posted..“Are You Sure I Can’t Twist Your Arm?” and other seemingly innocuous things to say when selling door-to-door
80! 80! Man those parents of yours have worked bloody hard. Summer jobs at uni, that one sounds bad but good too. Thank goodness those days are over, wonder what all our kids will do for summer jobs.
Seana – Sydney, Kids, Food + Travel recently posted..Orange Marmalade Muffins – Easy, Tangy + Yummy – Plus Surgery Went Well
gosh that is so motivational to say the least, what incredible role models your parents were {are}. They have done well, sticking at a job and showing you that staying with a goal is worth while.
Its not what they do as jobs that is important {or embarrassing growing up!!!}, its the message behind that counts – perseverance, and keeping active.
Its good that they are able to retire, and good that they were able to get you school holiday jobs…I once heard “if you stop using it, you lose it” and its so very true…keeping active when they are getting older is the key to keeping an active mind!
Hope they enjoy there retirement! Great photo of your Dad.
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Ugh, shift work. Not for me thanks!
I think the story of your parents is really sweet. I hope your mum gets a damn good retirement present. It also goes to show that we are lucky in many ways to have choices around work, and to see work as more than just making ends meet. Our parents didn’t necessarily get the luxury to try and find a “calling”.
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Such hard workers the older generation! Hehe! I love the photo of your dad.
Kaz @ Melting Moments recently posted..Fly on by Friday – Anything goes linky – Bowral day tripping
Almost 80?!! Your parents are legends and tell your dad his postie outfit was pretty spiffy! You come from good solid stock, Grace, love this story. Happy retirement to your folks xxx
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What a fab tale Grace, I hate night shifts – I’ve done a few as a journo in Sydney – HARD SLOG. Love that your parents have worked there forever – and wow til they are 80 – such hard workers 🙂
Emily @ Have a laugh on me recently posted..I used to sell rubbers, happy endings and pack apples!
Great story Grace. A great reminder of just some of the people out there doing the hard slog for all of our benefits. It’s definitely character building to try out a variety of jobs – especially when you’re young.
Lara @ This Charming Mum recently posted..Hi ho, hi ho, it’s home to work I go.
Wow, Grace. What a story! Our parents’ generation were so much more stoic than ours! I’ve always been a worker but my dad had a fulltime job and two part-time jobs on the side as we were growing up. And it was all for the family. You must be very proud of your parents. I hope they enjoy their twilight years 🙂 xx
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Oh Grace! They were so dedicated! My dad used to work as a postman person type thing over Christmas back in Ireland for extra money in his youth. Also his aunt and uncle used to send them a chicken every Christmas from their farm – in the post! Dad said it always arrived wrapped in brown paper with the blood oozing through. HA!
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Hi Grace, I love how you share in your most recent post and this one about your family history. I love the way you write and they would be so proud of you for the way you share your love for them and their days of hard work …what a beautiful and rich legacy of loyalty and dedication, of integrity and generosity!!! Your mother and father very much remind me of my own beautiful parents. Thanks for sharing. And in advance a big Happy Birthday to your sweet Mum! Wow 80!! How awesome! Love Jess xx