Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Boulia and the parcel post - 1898 and 1900

Two short articles on the large number of parcels being posted to Boulia in 1898 and 1900


Capricornian (Rockhampton), Saturday 7 April 1900, page 27
Boulia


(From Our Own Correspondent)

Still no relief from the intense drought. Its severity may be best judged by the action of the postal authorities in making the mail service from Birdsville to Bedourie fortnightly instead of weekly: the service from Bedourie to here to continue weekly for a little longer. The Urandangie buggy service is to be made a pack-horse service, the parcels post being for the time suspended, the contractor to run from here to Glenormiston and back, and his mate at the other end to run from Urandangie to Roxburgh Downs and back, thus leaving the thirty miles between Roxburgh and Glenormiston untraversed. All letters and papers for Urandangie, Carandotta, and Roxburgh Downs will soon go round by Cloncurry.
Cobb and Coy.'s Winton-Boulia coach, due on Friday, reached here on Saturday with twenty-two big bags of parcels and mail, principally parcels. The company is finding much difficulty in running anywhere near to time, but I do not suppose they will want the parcels post service suspended. They generally manage to worry through their difficulties.


Capricornian (Rockhampton), Saturday 1 October 1898, page 28
Boulia

(From Our Own Correspondent)
The parcels post has been so freely used out here lately that Cobb and Co. have found it necessary to put a special wagon on the line to cope with the difficulty. This change will certainly be very much better for the parcels, but hardly so for any passengers, of whom there are generally some going one way or the other. We should think that for such a central place— as regards postal service at all events, and also far removed from the more modern conveniences of civilisation — as Boulia is, they could almost run this conveyance, say, once a fortnight in addition to the usual coach service when the parcels post was particularly heavy.