Community toasts 100 years of post

One hundred years of postal service was recently celebrated by the small Kaipara community of Tinopai.
Organised by the present owners, Aucklanders John and Iris Hambling, the settlement's old post office building now serves as a holiday cottage for the family. However, its past life still holds strong in the heart of the community and the occasion was a time to reminisce.
Of special interest was guest speaker David Bevan, whose extensive knowledge of stamps and the postal service was enjoyed by the audience.
Mr Bevan detailed the changes to the 1898 pictorial stamps (as opposed to the traditional monarch images) of the era. Some stamps were printed in London and had spelling errors. The cost of postage ranged from a half penny into the shillings and pounds.
The Hamblings felt it appropriate the Member of Parliament for Kaipara Dr Lockwood Smith raise the flag and the centenary cake was cut by 97-year-old Mavis Smith. Both families have a long association with the area.
The kauri flagpole is a recent addition to the site. Donated by Bob Moyle, the flagpole was once the mast of the sailing ship Revenge. Built in Te Kopuru in 1905 the Revenge plied the Kaipara waters for many years. A bronze plaque commemorated the celebrations.
The Te Komiti Post Office opened on September 1, 1907. It overlooked the picturesque bay and mail was dropped off by many passing boats.
The post office closed again in 1908 and for the next few years it is believed the postal services operated from a flax mill.
In 1915 the post office (which later became known as Candy Cottage) re-opened and became the hub of the little settlement where people gathered to seek news on the war.
In 1918, by community consent, Te Komiti changed its name to Tinopai, meaning "extra good" in Maori. When the steamer service ceased operation in 1925 mail was delivered on horse back by Ester Mayall, twice weekly from Maungaturoto.
Over the years the mode of delivery changed considerably, horseback giving way to gig, Harley Davidson and sidecar, a Model T car, and a succession of Chevrolet vans owned by Lionel Paget, until 1945 when services ceased out of the building.
A new post office operated alongside the community hall; the mail being delivered by contractor until 1988 when the post office closed and a rural delivery from Matakohe began.
The post office building has undergone several transformations over the pending years, but is still easily recognisable. After World War Two it was rotated on site so instead of facing the wharf it now faces the bay. It has had French doors added, a verandah, a railway worker's hut added as a sleepout, and a garage. Long gone are the famous pink, lilac and white stripes, that earned it its name of Candy Cottage.
The late Milford Monk owned it from 1960 to 1994 when the Hamblings bought it, Iris having fallen in love with it during a Sunday drive.
Since then necessary repairs have been made, always keeping in mind the cottage's original plans and today it is as quaint as ever, its memories well-nurtured by its current owners and shared with the community.