Transporting the post

How was mail transported to country children in the past?

Learning intention

We are using evidence to learn about postal services in the past.

Success criteria

We can use stories and images as evidence of the past.
We can draw conclusions using stories, images and objects as evidence.

Examine the envelopes

These two envelopes contained marked work books and lesson instructions.

Identify the:

stamp
address
return address
dates sent.

What does the writing on the envelope mean?

'Commercial Papers' – the envelope contained printed documents.
'On His Majesty's Service' – the envelope was from a government department.
Stamps – have a portrait of King George V, the king from 1910 to 1936.
Stamp values – blue stamp is 3d –threepence. The red stamp is 2d –tuppence (two pence). Pence is a penny.
Address– Mrs J. J. Collins, Collinvale, Bevendale, via Dalton. Collinvale is the farm, Bevendale is the location and Dalton is the nearest village

Return address – The Correspondence School, Blackfriars, Sydney

Dates sent – 8th April 1931 and 24th April 1931

A yellow envelope with a stamp, address and return address. Printed at the top is 'commercial papers' and 'On His Majesty's Service'.

Two envelopes posted from Blackfriars Correspondence School in Sydney to Mrs Jean Collins, mother of Geoffrey Collins, 8 April 1931 and 24 April 1931

Who was Mrs J J Collins and her son Geoffrey?

Mrs Jean Collins

Mrs Jean Collins lived on a farm called Collinvale in country NSW. The nearest school was too far away so she helped her son Geoffrey do his school lessons at home.

Geoffrey Collins

This is Geoffrey's first day of school at home in 1929. The envelopes above held his school lessons and marked work books. His mother helped him do his lessons at home.

A lady in a long skirt sitting on the front steps of a brick house

Mrs Jean Collins, Geoffrey's mother

A young boy in shorts standing beside a blackboard on an easel outside

Geoffrey Collins, 6 years old

Geoffrey's story – how the mail comes

Recall your Schoolhouse Museum visit.
View the video or read the writing task Geoffrey's 4th Class teacher set.
View the video or read what Geoffrey wrote for his written composition.
Recount what you learnt about past postal services from Geoffrey and his teacher.

Did you know

A 'composition' is a written story. Today we call it a 'written text'.
Geoffrey's story describes his personal context.

Transporting the mail – how my lessons comeYouTube | NSW Schoolhouse Museum of Public Education (1:39min) | Transcript

Geoffrey's 4th Class teacher wrote:

"Almost every day the trains and steamers leaving Sydney, carry packets of mail to 'my big family' scattered all over New South Wales.

Suppose you tell me this week what really does happen when your school work arrives.

Tell me how it is brought to your place – by steamer, train, mail car, coach or horseback?

Is it delivered right to your door, or do you ride or walk miles to get it?"

Did you notice

This lesson sheet has been typed on a typewriter.

4th Class instruction sheet from Blackfriars Correspondence School in Sydney, 1932 | Transcript

Geoffrey wrote:

"Our mail comes by train to Gunning and from there to Dalton by car, and to Bevendale also by car.

We motor a mile and a half for our mail, which is delivered by the road side, across the river.

We have no bridge only a concrete crossing. If the river is in flood then the mail is brought over on a flying-fox.

I always look forward to the mail which comes three times a week."

Did you notice

Geoffrey wrote his story using pen and ink in Cursive writing.

A page of running writing written in ink pen

Composition by Geoffrey Collins, 4th Class, 1932 | Transcript

Geoffrey's composition continued | Transcript

Recount what you've learnt

What modes of postal transport did the teacher list?
How was the mail transported to Geoffrey?
What were some challenges for Geoffrey's family when collecting the mail?
How do you know this information?

Painted wooden blocks in a U shape on a felt base. Wooden toy train and toy cars are on the mat.

Model of Central Railway Station with steam trains

Photo story – delivering the post

Examine the images below.

See

What do you notice first?
What people and objects can you see?
What forms of transport can you see?

Think

What do you think is happening in the image?
What can you learn about transporting the mail from the image?

What might be a challenge in delivering or collecting the mail that way?

Wonder

What does the image make you wonder?

Make inferences

Recall your Schoolhouse Museum excursion, the video and photos.

How was the post transported and delivered to far away places in the past?
Draw a picture of what you think Geoffrey’s flying fox over the flooded river looked like.
What other challenges might there be in transporting the mail to far away places?

Complete the transporting the post worksheet

A man in a hat putting a large sack into the back of a van outside a brick building. The building has a sign Correspondence School Blackfriars.

A mailmain loading mail bags into a mail van at the Correspondence School, 1946.

A large boat on a river with a round paddle wheel on the side and a chimney on the top

River steamer Nellie carrying mail and passengers, circa 1900.

An old car with a trailer outside the letterbox of a house on a farm.

A mail car with a trailer delivering the mail to a house in the country, 1936.

A steam train with smoke and many carriages on a bridge in some mountains

The 'Sydney Mail' train in South Queensland, circa 1910.

A group of people beside a horse and cart looking at letters and envelopes in their hands

A mailman on a horse and cart delivering the mail in country NSW, 1946.

A boy and girl looking at a book and envelope beside a large letterbox labelled 'The Glen'

A brother and sister opening their mail from the Correspondence School, 1946.

Vocabulary

Postal services – services that manage mail delivery such as sorting and postal trainsport

Mail – letters and parcels sent through the post

Envelope – a flat paper container to hold letters and paper documents

Mail train – a train that transports mail. About mail trains.

Steamer – a shallow boat designed for rivers and powered by steam and often a paddle-wheel

Mail car – a car used to transport mail, sometimes with a traler

Horseback – tranport by riding a horse

Correspondence – communication between people by sending and recieving letters and emails

Image – a picture

Image attributions

A mailmain loading mail bags into a mail van at the Correspondence School in Sydney, 1946. Museums of History NSW
The 'Sydney Mail' train in South Queensland, circa 1910. State Library of Queensland. Out of copyright
River steamer Nellie carrying mail and passengers, circa 1900. State Library of South Australia. No copyright restrictions
A mailman on a horse and cart delivering the mail to a family living in country NSW, 1946. Museums of History NSW
Drawing of a mail car with a trailer delivering the mail to a house in the country, 1936. NSW Schoolhouse Museum
A brother and sister opening their mail posted from the Correspondence School in Sydney, 1946. Museums of History NSW

Images on Transporting the mail worksheet additional to those above:

Mail car leaving Adavale on its run to Windorah, Queensland, 1921. State Library Queesnland on Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
A Graves Hill & Co horse-drawn mail coach delivering mail to Willunga Post Office, 1916, State Library of South Australia. No known coyright.
Meeting the mailman (on horseback) by Kerry & Co., circa 1900. Powerhouse Museum. No copyright restrictions.

Banner image – 'Sydney Mail' train, on Toowoomba Range, South Queensland, ca. 1910. State Library of Queensland. Out of copyright.

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