Stanthorpe in 1894

Mr W.J. Richardson ran the Royal Mail from Stanthorpe to Texas. Coach manufactured by J. Lambert Stanthorpe.

The following is an excerpt from the 10 October, 1894, from the Warwick Examiner and Times.

Shearing in the Stanthorpe district

Shearing is now general in this district (says the Border Post) and will shortly commence.

The shearers from Glenlyon will probably go to Ballandean.

Do not postpone your visit to Madame Reprah, you may be crowded out, as many were on her last visit.

Funding for digitisation contributed by State Library of Queensland.

The following is an excerpt from ‘They Came to a Plateau’ by Jean Harslett and Mervyn Royle.

Communication in the late 1800s

1881: The construction of the new Southern Border Railway Line, employing 900 people, creating the establishment of a post office at Dalveen.

Mr J. S. Kingsford, fulfilled the dual task of post and station master. He gave 19 years of service in this capacity, followed by Mr D. McInnes who also had a long term of service.

There were two mail services emanating, in the same year, from Dalveen, one to the Pikedale Road and school house, 6 times a week.

It became the Dalveen-Mountside service in 1883.

Mail was also dispatched north by rail in 1881, instead of by coach.

1882: Kyoomba established a Post Office with Mr W. Spiller in charge.

1885: Wallangarra Post Office was opened, coinciding with the rail border link, and the same year the Stanthorpe-Ballandean mail coach service was extended.

The latter was instituted, because of angry protests by railway construction workers, who had to “traverse rough indecent roads to Fletcher’s” for mail, the only other point where they could receive mail being Stanthorpe.

However, as was want to happen their appeal was answered rather too late to be of much help.

1887: On 14th February, the first mail was forwarded by train from Stanthorpe to Wallangarra.

1890: Mountside Post Office was established and Mrs E. McLucas installed as postmistress.

1896-97: Private mail-boxes were introduced in Stanthorpe, but only two people took advantage of them.