History of Roadside Mailboxes in Cherry Gardens

Cherry Gardens was first settled in 1838 and in the next 20 years the settlement grew with the church being built in 1849 and the first school in 1860. There is a record of a Post Office being opened in Cherry Gardens as early as 1850 although the first local records of a Postal Service to Cherry Gardens was in 1866 when Robert Broadbent would use a push bike to collect the mail. There were several unofficial Post Offices in private residences. Arthur Broadbent held the Post Office in the house then known as Fairview on Church Hill (now Hicks Hill Road) and it was later re-opened in Joe Lewis’s house.

‘FAIRVIEW’ circa 1870

The Post Office was later moved to Cherry Gardens Road on the corner of what is now Jacobs Road and operated by Nelly Breily. The Post Office changed hands a number of times after this including Alice Ricks, Joey Pappin and finally Lester Jones.

The Cherry Gardens Post Office circa 1929

Lester Jones operated the Post Office from the property where the Cherry Gardens Hedge is now located. This Post Office was officially closed in 1976 and a new method for getting the mail was required. Australia Post contracted delivery of the mail and residents had to provide a mailbox out the front of their property.

Cherry Gardens Hedge (note the Public Phone Box)

The contractor was only allowed to deliver mail along the main road so all residents that lived off the main road (such as Dorsett Vale Road, Star and Arrow Road, Jacobs Road, Hicks Hill Road, Brumby Road, Marshall Road) had to place their Roadside Mailbox along the main road (Cherry Gardens Road).

This resulted in groups of mailboxes appearing along Cherry Gardens Road wherever a side road intersected the main road.

The numbers on the mailboxes were chosen by the residents however the numbering followed the normal odd and even numbers on each side of the road. Those people living on the side roads still used a similar numbering system and used the name of the side road however their mailbox was placed on Cherry Gardens Road.

Residents added the letters RMB in front of the number to signify Roadside Mailbox. This system operated successfully until around 10 years ago when residents were advised that a new system of rural numbering would be implemented using the distance each house was from the start of the road. The number 620 would indicate the house was 6.2km’s from the start of the road.

Under this system again residents on side roads still had to erect their letter box on the main road as the Post Office contractor was only allowed to deliver along the main road.

This system has worked well for 40 plus years in Cherry Gardens and many other districts throughout the Adelaide Hills.