Postie's workmates supporting each other after death

12.45pm


The workmates of Wairarapa rural postie Erlinda Warrington are supporting each other and sharing memories this morning, their boss says.

Mrs Warrington's body was recovered yesterday from the Wainuiomapu stream not far from her rural Bideford home where her vehicle was found on Wednesday night.

The rural post contractor set out at 5.30am on Wednesday to pick up her mail in Masterton, about 40km away, during a violent storm that wreaked havoc across the lower North Island but she never arrived.

Regional contracts manager for rural post David Bond told NZPA today staff were gathering this morning and sharing stories about Mrs Warrington.

"We're right in the middle of it right now actually. Staff are coping well, are getting together and talking, and we have a counsellor available to talk to them this morning."

Mr Bond said staff were very upset, "very shaken by the whole thing"."

"They are just starting to talk about events, things that have happened...they're talking about Linda and what a good workmate she was."

Mrs Warrington's husband Les was struggling with his grief.

"She was an incredibly special lady and we were pretty close," he told the Dominion-Post newspaper.

"This has just been hard... so hard."

Mr Warrington said he became worried after hearing his wife had not reached work.

"I had rung her work to check she got there okay because the weather was so bad and when I heard she had not made it I thought 'oh God she has gone off the road into this flooding'."

When Mrs Warrington's utility vehicle was found the rear windows had been wound down indicating she had climbed out into the torrent.

On an earlier search of the area where the vehicle was eventually found, Mr Warrington had twice waded into the water and attempted to see if there was any sign of the ute.

It was not until the water subsided that searchers saw the roof of the vehicle.

From the position of the recovered ute it seems likely Mrs Warrington had turned back towards home.

Mr Warrington said she must have turned around and tried to make it back home but had been trapped between the slip and rising floodwaters that swept over the ute.

Mrs Warrington, a Filipino, was Mr Warrington's second wife and stepmother to his children, who include prominent Queensland jockey Jason Warrington.

Mrs Warrington had been delivering mail to rural customers for 15 years.

Fellow rural delivery contractor Bill Knight said "she was a real toiler".

The news of her disappearance had come as a real shock to other staff. "It's just too close to home," Mr Knight said.

There have been at least three other storm-related deaths this year.

- NZPA