When you enter the Tallygaroopna post office, Andrew Hunt sits behind the counter, wearing the biggest smile in town.
“This is just so much fun,” he says.
In January, Mr Hunt and his son Liam officially took over the Tallygaroopna post office, with a ready-made mascot, 14-month-old King Charles cavalier puppy Joey, in tow.
Friday, February 10, marked the first day they had the office all to themselves.
The father and son duo have slipped into the shoes of Greg and Andrea White, who ran the post office for 19 years before moving to Wagga Wagga.
“I haven’t had fun like this, you know, ages,” Mr Hunt said.
“People are just so lovely.”
When the News visited on Friday for the opening day, the younger Mr Hunt — who went to kindergarten and primary school in Tallygaroopna and volunteers at the CFA — was out running errands.
The elder Mr Hunt has lived in Tallygaroopna for two decades, with his previous job as a prison officer at Dhurringile.
“I was over being a prison officer. It’s great job,’’ he said.
“But once you’re finished with it, you’re done.
“Instead of a 40-minute drive to work it’s a 400m walk.
“This is totally different to anything else I’ve done.”
Why make the leap to owning and running a post office?
When the Hunts realised it was a chance for father and son to work together, with some after-school help from wife and mother Kathy, and to interact more with the community, it was a no-brainer.
What did they have to learn?
“Everything,” Mr Hunt said.
The posting involves runs to Katandra, Wunghnu and Zeerust, and the morning sorting of the mail is a frantic exercise, but helping hands — who worked at the post office under the previous owners — have helped.
“Dan and Kevin have forgotten more than I know,” Mr Hunt said.
“Everybody’s been so patient and nothing but nice.
“And when we’ve made mistakes, we’ve given people wrong people mail and all those things, and they come back in and smile.”
As for the mascot, he’s fast become the new face of the post office.
“Joey is 14 months old, we’ve had him for 12 of those months,” Mr Hunt said.
“He’s just a very spoilt dog.
“When it was decided that Liam and I were going to spend 12 hours a day here, instead of him being home by himself, it was decided he could become a post office puppy.”
And he’s taken to the task “brilliantly”.
“He hasn’t chewed anything,” Mr Hunt said.
“He’s everybody’s new best friend, all the kids come in and talk to him.
“They’re prone to being spoilt and fat but he’s such a good boy.”
Mr Hunt was delighted to be such an important part of the community.
“You feel a sense of responsibility about it, but this is so much fun.”