Historical information

When the Commonwealth Post and Telegraph Act was passed in June 1902, and a national Postmaster General's Department (the PMG) was established the responsibility for the nation's mail and telephone services fell on Post Offices.
The Bendigo Post Office, built in 1887 and situated on Pall Mall was the central distribution centre for receiving and delivering telegrams and continued to deliver communication and postal services until 1997.
Now a Visitor Centre, dedicated volunteers at the Post Office continued to demonstrate and educate the public about the daily workings of the Post Office up until 2019 when Covid 19 disrupted every day life and Ted Rankins, the last Post Master and a long term telegraph volunteer at the Post Office, died.
Manuals were issued to postmen to guide them in the delivery of letters and parcels and were small enough to be carried with them. This manual was used by the Bendigo Post Office postmen and is part of the postal collection donated by the Rankins family in memory of Ted Rankins,.

Physical description

Small, creamed coloured cloth covered manual. Contains forty four printed pages and two blank end pages covering all aspects of how to correctly deliver the post. Topics include 'Behaviour', 'Deceased Persons' and 'Bicycles' amongst many others. Book is bound and contains many extra additional paragraphs stuck in on appropriate pages noting changes and amendments. Additional amendments in handwritten red pen also occur on pages 28, 29 and 36.

Inscriptions & markings

Front cover; Postmen's Manual / Australian Post Office
Various annotations and updates throughout.