Kaitoke Post Office

This office opened on 1 April 1878 and closed on 28 October 1955. The office was in the Kaitoke Railway Station, pictured below.

Postmaster	Start		Postmaster	Start
Mr G Jones	1 Apr 1878		Mr J Sharkay	24 Oct 1911
Mr A J McCurdy	1883		Mr T J McMahon	30 Oct 1913
Mr R Kearney	1 Apr 1895		Mr TC Warren	1 Jan 1916
W Jones	8 Oct 1896		Mr T G White	24 Apr 1918
Mr R Kearney	24 Feb 1897		Mr A J Vollemaere	8 Dec 1918
Mr LE Enderly	9 Aug 1899		Mr C O’Connor	11 Feb 1920
Mr W H Chittey	26 Oct 1899		Mrs A Simpson	29 Jul 1925
Mr S D Hill	9 Dec 1899		Mrs E Burney	29 Jul 1925
Mr A E Bright	4 Jul 1900		Mr A Tuffey	9 Mar 1931
Mr A D Hathaway	25 Jan 1905		Mrs R H Longman	16 Mar 1931
Mr A W Moller	2 Nov 1907		Mr L D Raikes	19 Mar 1938
Mr H J Larkin	15 Nov 1907		Mrs M J Melville	5 Apr 1938
Mr JF Westmorland	20 Nov 1909		Mr L D Raikes*	5 Nov 1938

* Mr Raikes remained in charge until closure

With the pending opening of the Rimutaka Railway Tunnel on 3 November 1955, the Railways Department advised the Post & Telegraph (P&T) Department that the Kaitoke Railway Station would close on 29 October 1955.

This left the Kaitoke Camp Post Office to serve the local farming community.

Kaitoke Camp Post Office

This office was opened on 12 March 1946 and changed its name on 25 June 1956 to Kaitoke and closed on 1 December 1989.

The Post Office was opened to serve the workers of the Wellington Waterworks Scheme at Kaitoke. Correspondence^*1 requesting the provision of an office for workers states that the Public Works Department employees are to be accommodated at a camp being established about 2 miles (3.21km) from the Kaitoke Railway Station, initially for 50 men increasing to more than 100. The labour requirements for the waterworks scheme being expected to last for 5 years.

The conveyance of mail to and from Upper Hutt was undertaken by means of a Public Works Department vehicle as no cost to the Post & Telegraph (P&T) Department.

The office provided post and telephone with money order and savings bank facilities and was run by the Young Mans Christian Association (YMCA) official^*2 at the camp.

Postmaster	Start		Postmistress	Start
Mr M Munro	12 Mar 1946		Mrs E R Hoey	9 Mar 1951
Mr OD Price	20 Jun 1946		Mrs N I Lyons	8 July 1952

The office closed during the Christmas – New Year holidays when all valuables were transferred to Upper Hutt and mail was directed to Kaitoke Post Office.

In early 1952 with completion of the scheme the YMCA advised the P&T that the Kaitoke Camp would be closed on 20 June.

The P&T noted that there was a General Store on the roadside near the camp and offered the post office to the store owner Mrs Lyons. The Ministry of Works (MOW) provided a small hut which they placed against one wall of Mrs Lyon’s store for the post office.

Kaitoke Post Office (2^nd Period)

In October 1955, some 3 years after the Kaitoke Camp office was transferred to Mrs Lyons store representations were received by the P&T for the office name to be changed from to Kaitoke. This occurred on 25 June 1956.

By 1976 the general store, which had opened in 1947 no longer complied with local body regulations and Mrs Lyons closed the store on 30 April 1976.

However, she continued to run the post office and her newspaper agency for a further 13 years with it being closed on 1 December 1989^*3. In addition, she was the Honorary Warden for the nearby Youth Hostel in Marchant Road from 1953 – 1981.

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^1* Source – Archives NZ File – R20934805 – https://collections.archives.govt.nz/en/web/arena/search#/?q=R20934805

^2* Source – Archive NZ – Post Office Record Cards listing the names and dates of Postmasters – https://collections.archives.govt.nz/en/web/arena/search#/?q=R26283356

^3* Source – https://uhcl.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/33796 – From the Summit to the Gorge (Pages 31 – 40) – Geo Robertson

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

31/01/26