Further to the article on Mobile Post Offices in the last Postal History Corner, early in 1988 following the closure of various Post Offices around the country, PostBank^* initiated the operation of a mobile bank. Each Thursday the bank stopped at the Brown Owl mobile library stopping place from 9.00 am, to 10.00 am and at the mobile library stopping place in Bathurst Street, Heretaunga from 10.30 am to 11.30 am.

The Brown Owl Post Office opened on 2 August 1965 and closed on 22 January 1988.

In 1963 the Rimutaka Baptist Property Board wrote to the Post Office about the development of a shopping centre in the area known as Brown Owl. It was planned to build a total of eleven shops to serve the surrounding householders and the Post Office was invited to include an office. Eventually an office opened in Coffey’s Bookshop with Mrs B Coffey acting as postmistress. When Mrs Coffey resigned, plans were to move the office to Mr Brian Rabbitt’s grocery business at 115 Akatarawa Road, however on 10 April 1969 Mr R Wylie took over the post office agency which he operated from his dairy at the Brown Owl Shopping Centre. With the business being sold Mrs C J Berkett became postmistress on 8 April 1970, followed by Mrs J Willis from 1 June 1972.

The office closed temporarily on 10 January 1973 and reopened in new premises in the shopping centre ⁱⁱⁱ on 5 February 1973 with Mrs R M Fairhurst as the office’s first full time postmistress. Mrs P McIntosh (pictured) was appointed postmistress on 13 August 1980 through to closure of the office. 

• PostBank was formerly the Post Office Savings Bank and Post Office Bank Ltd later rebranded as PostBank. It was purchased by the Australia and New Zealand Bank Group (ANZ) in 1989 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_Office_Savings_Bank_(New_Zealand)

A “thank you” to Andrew for sending this article to The Upper Hutt Connection.

26/09/25