THERE’S a place where everybody knows your name, it’s not the local watering hole, it’s a town’s post office.
Rosewood Post Office has been owned and operated by sisters Gail Roworth and Pam McEwin a little over 15 years.
They’re the friendly faces behind the counter and have formed friendships with regular customers.
But the time has come for them to step down and into retirement.
It wasn’t an easy decision; they’ve enjoyed getting to know their clients and appreciate their loyalty.
“We’ve seen people grow, there’s been births, deaths and marriages, children have graduated from high school and it has all been lovely,” Gail said.
“You get to know people because they come in regularly to do banking, post items or collect parcels.
“We’d like to say thank you and tell our clients how much we’ve appreciated their business, support and what they’ve shared with us through conversation.
“It’s not easy to step away but we’re not leaving the area and will still be around for a chat and catch up.”
The sisters hadn’t planned to run the business as long as they did.
“It started many years ago when my husband retired,” Pam said.
“Twelve months after we bought the business we won the Best Non-Metro Licensed Post Office in Queensland in Australia Post’s 2010 State Excellence Awards.”
Ingenuity and an understanding of customer need put them in pole position.
“When we started, the post office was pretty much bare bones, so we increased our services and brought in ones that weren’t available in Rosewood,” she said.
“We set ourselves up to provide everything a metro corporate office does.
“We wanted everything Australia Post had to offer here in Rosewood.”
Since they started, parcel collections and dispatches have increased exponentially.
Letter writing dropped off in favour of emails and text messages became more popular forms of communication.
“The changes we’ve seen and the services we offer now are nothing like it was back in 2009,” Gail said.
“You wouldn’t recognise it from when we first took over, it’s a totally different business.
“We do things like passports, land title checking and gun licencing, then there is banking.
“Banks are closing but Australia Post does every bank, building society and credit union other than ANZ.”
Rosewood Post Office has become a business hub operating on the borders of busy metro areas.
“We have two pickups of mail a day and that’s of great benefit to our customers,” she said.
As they step away, they want everyone to know how much they’ve enjoyed running Rosewood Post Office.
“We’ll still be in Rosewood because we live here, we just won’t be behind the counter at the post office,” she said.
“A lovely young gentleman has taken over the post office and the staff we’ve had working for us are staying on.
“The delivery staff are staying on too, it’s just myself, Pam and Henry [the post office pooch] who won’t be there anymore.”
Retirement plans include writing a book on family history and catching up with friends.
There’s a trip to Italy coming up and plenty of community activities planned to keep them busy.
It’s completely normal for siblings to bicker and Pam and Gail are no different.
“Any arguments are always settled with Rock Paper Scissors,” Gail laughed.
“When Gail says that I always conceded because I never win.
“My husband does the same and it solves a lot of problems.”
Gail and Pam’s last day at Rosewood Post Office is Friday May 16.
