Postbox on Rinaldo Road still in operation
The red postbox on Rinaldo Road may still be used to post letters.
A PARKHILL resident who stumbled across a red letterbox last week was shocked to see that they actually still exist.
While visiting a service station on Rinaldo Road, Mary Ann Harmer said she couldn’t believe that the box was still in such great condition.
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“I posted a picture of it on the Durban North Residents Facebook group and asked if I could post a letter. The replies I got were funny and sarcastic,” she said with a laugh.
“I have not seen one of these letterboxes in years and always wondered what had happened to them,” she said.
Judging by the comments on the community group, it seems that Harmer was not the only one who had no idea whether these boxes were still in use or not.
One of the group’s members suggested she should post a letter to herself and see if she received it.
Johan Kruger, spokesperson for the South African Post Office, confirmed that these boxes are still in use, however, many of them are vandalised and sold for scrap metal.
“Today, letterboxes are regularly vandalised by people who sell scrap metal to make a living. Doors are, at times, broken off and sold, leaving the letterbox unusable. It is no longer possible to obtain parts for these pieces of history,” he said.
The letterbox on Rinaldo Road, he said, remains in use.
“Letterboxes are emptied depending on how regularly they are used. The normal frequency is twice weekly, and once a week for letterboxes that are not used much,” he added.
Kruger said members of the public are welcome to post items in them.
“At the Post Office, we do believe that it carries far more weight when you receive a postcard rather than an email or WhatsApp which is often lost when you upgrade your phone,” he said.
He added that although electronic communication had largely replaced paper-based messages, the Post Office still delivers close to a million items each workday in South Africa.
“If there are young people who want to test the letterbox – remember, you have to put a stamp on the envelope before posting it,” said Kruger.
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