Ocean Grove’s Bob McKillop is celebrating 51 years of service with Australia Post. He speaks with Jena Carr about the huge milestone and how the job has changed during his career.
Ocean Grove’s Bob McKillop, 66, was born in Scotland and came to Australia with his family when he was 12.
Three years later, in 1973, he would embark on a nearly 51-year-long journey with Australia Post, starting as a telegram boy, a job that no longer exists, in Burwood.
“My sister had really bad asthma and died clinically twice or three times,” he said.
“My dad’s parents were already out here with his brother, and the doctor said Australia was good for asthma, so we moved.
“I left school when I was 15, and Dad got me the job as a telegram boy. He was a bus driver and knew a lot of people.
“There was a telegram delivery job, and the guy he knew was quitting, and he said, ‘Get your son to get a job’. So, he got me the job.
“I was a telegram boy for nearly three years…and many of the telegrams were for weddings and funerals. But then I got my licence, became a driver, and delivered parcels.
“I’ve been a postie ever since I was 19 or 20…and I got dad a job 10 years later. I also just like going to work every day as I love my job.”
Bob moved to Ocean Grove from Burwood in 1989, where he worked as a postie for 34 years.
“I was doing a boss’ job in Melbourne and working as an acting boss. A job came up as a permanent thing and I put in for it, but they knocked me back and said I was too young,” he said.
“I’ve been doing the boss’ job for two years, but they said I was too young. So, I decided that if I can’t be the boss I might as well move.
“So, I went and saw the postmaster at Ocean Grove. I had 17 years of experience by then, and he said, ‘Oh yeah, we’ll have you’, and I started then. It was good down here bringing up two boys.
“My family used to caravan down in Ocean Grove quite a few years before we moved…and I love the people, and you come to grow a relationship with the locals.”
Australia Post has evolved a lot over 50 years, and Bob said that every time something new was introduced, it “re-energises you and your passion for the job”.
“I am a stickler, and I do stick to things. I don’t change too much but the job has changed,” he said.
“Back in the day, everybody used to write letters, and maybe not so many letters, but people used to send postcards.
“We deliver parcels rather than mail these days. When was the last time you got a handwritten letter? You probably never got one… and very rarely do you get a handwritten letter these days.
“People don’t really do that anymore, same as Christmas cards. We used to be so busy with Christmas cards, but now everybody sends emails.
“We also used to blow whistles back in the day to let people know that there was mail in their letterbox, and when I moved down here, I started doing it and people used to ask what it was.”
Bob loved to showcase the spirit of Christmas each year as he dressed up himself and his motorbike to deliver some festive joy to the streets of Ocean Grove.
“I dressed up as Santa every Christmas Eve on the motorbike and I used to have kids coming from everywhere,” he said.
“I used to buy $20 worth of lollies from the local shop, and I just had them in my bag, and whenever I saw a kid, I’d give them a lolly.
“In the end I had so many people and what would usually take me four hours out on the bike, would take me six or seven. People just loved it.”
Despite his long career with Australia Post, Bob had considered other career options but always felt the call of mail drawing him back.
“I’ve always loved my job, otherwise I wouldn’t do it. I could retire now but I’m quite happy with what I am doing,” he said.
“I was going to be a pastry cook at one stage, but Dad said, ‘How reliable is it?’. I said, ‘Well, I don’t know’, and he said, ‘Well, the post office is pretty reliable. I’d advise you not to quit’. So, I didn’t.
“I was going to quit when I moved over to start my own gardening business, but it was a gamble. My brother-in-law also bought a restaurant down here when I first moved, so I worked there for 10 years.
“I’m a worker and couldn’t sit around doing nothing in retirement. So, if I do it, I’ll probably help out at the golf club as a volunteer or at the op shops.
“I tried to go for transition to retirement, where I would have every Tuesday off as I play golf and a few of my mates play on golf Tuesdays, but we’re so short-staffed.
“So that’s been put on hold at the moment, but maybe next year I might retire but I don’t feel old and besides golf, I don’t really do a lot, and you can’t play golf for seven days a week.”
Bob said he has seen many people pass through Australia Post and encouraged anyone considering a position to “go for it”.
“The job is easy because I know it so well, and I get to meet people as there’s all sorts of different people….and I also like the early starts finish,” he said.
“It’s flexibility because you can be home most days at 2pm at the latest. So, if you want to go and work, do a sport, pick your kids up from school or whatever, you can do that.
“A lot of people don’t like the early mornings but I’m an early person and always have been. I suppose that’s because I’ve been working for so long. I couldn’t do a nine to five job.”
