Through fires, floods and tornadoes, Ian Eldridge has ensured Tamborine Mountain locals always get their precious parcels.
In fact, over his 24 years as the principal parcel contractor for Australia Post Ian said proudly he has missed no more than four days.
Quite an achievement for an area notorious for inclement weather.
“I was in Knoll Road many years ago in a cyclonic situation and a big branch broke off a eucalyptus tree above me and fell on the back half of the van. That was quite frightening,” he recalled.
“The ranger pulled me out and said I was the luckiest bastard in the world.”
“Driving on the road with the fire running alongside you can be scary.”
It was actually the treacherous roads on and off the mountain which he feared the most as he said they have claimed the lives of someone each year.
“I was always mindful of people’s safety, particularly in the weather conditions we’ve experienced over the years.”
For 24 years Ian’s mail van was a familiar and welcome sight, delivering precious parcels around the mountain and later down to Tamborine and into Canungra, eventually having 12 vans to service the region.
“I only ever recruited locals to work for me and kept all the business related to maintaining the service local,” he said.
Sadly, at 76 years of age, the time has come to park his trusty van, and there’s no doubt many locals will miss his friendly face and willingness to have a chat.
“The characters you encounter are what stands out,” Ian said, recalling the many interesting locals, he formed a close bond with.
“You get to meet some wonderful, caring people and also experience the unsavoury side. One time a person won a prize on a radio show that we delivered, and they accused us of not delivering it.
“The early mornings are the part that get you in the end. In the beginning it was 4am starts.”
“We used to have to line up the parcels out on the footpath because there was no room inside the original post office in the sorting room.”
“You’d be groping around in the fog.”
On one occasion there was a scare when white powder was found coming out of a parcel. It turned out to be a supplement for horses, which gave everyone a laugh.
And delivering live animals to feed to reptiles was one of the more interesting packages he’d handle.
“I’m satisfied,” he said of his decision to retire.
“I have done what I set out to do, which was to create a responsible, efficient team with team spirit built in. I’ve been lucky to say that my success has been at their involvement. You need a team.”
