Sean Cunningham, Narrandera Argus

Barellan Post Office, which is also the town’s financial centre, is under new ownership.

The new owners Fiona Kibble and Cameron Rouse believe that investing in the post office has been the “best decision” they’ve made in a long time.

Ms Kibble has had a roundabout journey to eventually reach and work in the town she is fond of.

Originally from Nowra on the NSW South Coast, Ms Kibble initially scheduled a six-month holiday in 1990 and ended up staying in Jersey, in the English Channel, off the coast of France for 14 years – eight years working as a police officer there.

“I met, married and divorced and came back to Australia as a single parent in 2004,” she said.

“I came to Griffith to work in 2017 and moved to Barellan in 2019.

“The post office came up for sale and we decided it was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up.

“It was local and an investment in the local community – something we both strongly believe in as we’re both quite community minded.”

The couple officially took over the post office on January 17, but had started Australia Post training in October last year.

They are effectively the town’s financial centre for transactions as the only ATM in town, located at Barellan & District War Memorial Club, is unavailable for use Monday to Wednesday.

“A lot of our business is banking, people can pay bills or deposit or withdraw funds, so we’re basically the banking system,” Ms Kibble said.

“We double as a gift shop but what we sell mostly are greeting cards.

“It’s a lot of work, especially in the morning when the mail comes in. We do a mail run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and it’s about a 285-kilometre round trip, but you just have to have a lot of can-do attitude and get on with it.”

Feedback has been positive for the new owners in the early stages of their tenure.

“The people are friendly, patient and understanding,” Ms Kibble said.

“Being a rural post office we really need to know every name and address.

“There’s about 560 people who live in Barellan and we’re pretty much on a first name basis with most.

“It’s one of the most friendly communities I’ve lived in, with strong community spirit.”

Ms Kibble said that although the operation was “running smoothly so far”, it would take about six months to learn every aspect of the business.

This article appeared in the Narrandera Argus, 17 February 2022.