THE KIRIKIRIR0A POST OFFICE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1878, 19 July 1884, Page 3

THE KIRIKIRIROA POST OFFICE.

The "Postal authorities have notified their intention to close the Kirikiriroa Post Office,' on the 3lst inst., the residents have- prepared the following petition :— To* the Postmaster-General of New Zea- . lancL W^ the undersigned residents of East and. West Hamilton, and of the bin-round-ing, district of Khikiiiroa, learn with surprise and alarm, that oiders have been issued to close the East Hamilton, or as it is officially called the Kirikiriroa Postoffice, at the end of the present month, and request that you will reconsider the determination for the following 1 reasons. Ist That the closing of this office would inflict an injustice on the business people and property holders of East Hamilton, dnung away a large propoition of the business to the other side of the liver, as the country settlers of the large Kirikiriroa district, the other back country of the borough would have resort to West Hamilton for their lctterk Secondly.— That it would be a serious inconvenience to the residents of the Borough of Hamilton, and to the Kiri kiriroa settlers who use the present Kirikiriroa Post Office, which is counting the double journey theie and back, more than a mile nearer to than the West Hamilton Office would be ; country settlers also are often obliged to send or call for thenletters or papers, often after working office hours, but now tluough the couitesy of the East Hamilton post-master, they are always able to obtain their letters and papers, &c., up to the hour of closing his shop for the night. and in cases of emergency ever later. Thirdly, that during tho twelve years the Kirikiriroa post-office has been opened it baa. been conducted by the piesent postmaster, Mr Le Quos.no, to the satisfaction of the general public and your petitioneis. Fourthly, they would lespect fully diaw your attention to the fact that the extra expense of the postmaster's .salary, £20 pei annum, would be a trifling sa\ ing, consideriug the large and steady increasing ie\enue derived from the office, now at the rate of some 50,000 letters per annum, independent of newspapeis, &c, .showing that if the office has been a public necessity dm ing the past twehe yeai.s it is more so now, and will be still moie *>o in the futuie. We are told that a lecehing box in East Hamilton will be cleared twice a day, and the delivery of letteis within the boiough be continued, but this concession will not remove the loss and inconvenience abo\c referred to. The bulk of the pei.sons who use tho present post-office aio less the ienidents of East Hamilton than of the largely populated country of Kuikuiroa, who, though they might post letters and papeis in the receiving boy, could not lecehe letters and papeib except by travelling on to West Hamilton for them. Under these circumstances, and as a telephone office must be kept open, and only part of the salary of the postmaster can bo >>a\ ed at the cost of so much loss and incom enience to the public by the proposed change, we trust that you will reconsider yoiu deteimination on the above matter, and your petitioners will ever pray, [lleic follow signatures.] In the face of this we thought it only fair that we should ascertain the views of the post office authoiities, and on applying to Mr Logic he veiy courteously supplied us with the Department's version, which is as follows :"— The dopai tmeiit decided on the step ha\ ing established a letter deliveiy in Hamilton and Hamilton. East, and as all Hamilton East is within the cam-ier's deliveiy. The present posting box at Kirikniioa will be continued as a iccei\ er and w ill be cleaied at stated hoius daily such, cleaiances to connect with the mails despatched fiom the Hamilton Post Office. Residents of Hamilton East will enjoy absolutely the the' same postal facilities as they do now, with oniy this iliffeience, that peisons wishing to register letteis will have to bring them to the Hamilton Poot Office The telephone remains in eliaigo of Mr LeQuesne, and the public will also be able to buy stamps theie as usual. Outsettlers who cannot always make it con venient to come in for then letteis dining office houis, by renting a pi hate letteibtfx can get their letteis up to 10 p.m. daily, ami from 9 a in. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. With legaid to expense, the Department will tave £'25 to £30, and when the C.unhiidge lailuay line is open the Department would have to pay for carrying the mails fiom Hamilton East Station to the post-office. This would be a further saving." So far as the business people of East Hamilton aie ■concerned, the change will not entail any inconvenience. It must be remeinbcied that there many towns in the colony much larger than Hamilton, possessing only one po&t-office. We may cite Oamaru, Timaiu and Invei cat gill as examples. In the case of the country settlers, however, there does seem to be some hardship, and we hope the Department will cause fuller enquiry to be made in regard to the amount of postal business done by people outside the town, and to whom crossing the ri\er involves considerable loss of time.