"We had been living in Brisbane and one day I got a call from Rex saying that he'd bought a post office in Bellata," postmistress Pat Bennett tells AAP.
"We opened on November 1, 1988."
A small town in northern central NSW, Bellata has a population of about 300.
Located 500 km south of Queensland's capital, the interstate move was more than a tree change for the couple.
But Ms Bennett says she and Rex were very quickly welcomed by the community.
"Little towns are very friendly," she says.
"It's been wonderful to work there because the people are so nice."
Together, the husband-and-wife team ran the operation - the post office and accompanying mail runs - for 18 years before Rex died in 2006.
At the time Ms Bennett considered selling up and moving on.
"But then I thought 'no, I can do it and I'll stay on'," she recalls.
"I'm glad I did."
Post offices have historically been considered the beating heart of a small community, a place to keep in touch with loved ones, make bank payments, send packages and apply for passports.
As modern technology and the online world has grown, it would be easy to think the role of the post office has shrunk.
But Ms Bennett says in many ways the opposite is true.
"There's still a lot that goes on in a post office and they still play an important role in a community but the work has evolved over time," she notes.
"There's not so many letters being sent but a lot more packages. A lot more online shopping happens now than when I first started!"
Plummeting use of snail mail is not unique to small towns like Bellata.
The average Australian buys just five stamps a year and in 2024, Australia Post reported letter numbers had dropped to levels not seen since the 1930s.
Ms Bennett says the rising costs of stamps - which were just 39 cents each in 1988 compared to $1.70 as of mid-2025 - could be a reason for fewer letters.
Bellata was loyally served by Ms Bennett five days a week until her 90s, making her Australia's oldest postmistress (or master for that matter).
In March she celebrated her 95th birthday and alongside her postal career, her legacy includes eight children, 22 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren, and counting.
A fall two years ago marked her decision to put the post office up for sale, with the new owners set to take over soon after their move from the nearby town of Narrabri.
Her advice to them after nearly 40 years of service?
"Treat people with kindness," she said.
"It's been a wonderful career."
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