An Aussie Post Box

Some of you following this blog may remember my Post Boxes. Whilst searching through the digital shoebox for something else I came across this little beauty in The Rocks, Sydney, Australia

sydney - the rocks (2)

This post box is made by Bubb and Sons Victoria Foundry. The first street posting boxes were cast in bronze by the Bubb & Sons foundry at Pyrmont in 1856.

sydney - the rocks (3)

Robert Bubb, born 23 June 1805 in Avening, Gloucestershire, England, migrated to Australia and established a foundry in Sydney. Victoria Iron Foundry was located at 10 Victoria Place, Sydney (the firm is listed in the Sands Directory until 1880).

sydney - the rocks (1)
These boxes were designed by T. W. Levinge of the New South Wales Postmaster General’s Department and initially manufactured by Robert Bubb and Son of Pyrmont. The boxes were in the style of the Penfold boxes with the Acanthus leaves and bud at the top. Note this one has a vertical aperture so probably one of the earlier designs.

Apparently there is another one in the Rocks district on Hickson Street which is dated to the 1880’s-1890’s with a horizontal aperture and still in use. Other Bubb mailboxes can be found in Sydney suburbs such as Manly and Marrickville. So you Aussies out there see if you can spot one for me!

Published by

Heyjude

I have lived in the UK for most of my life, but when young I definitely had wanderlust and even ended up living in South Africa for several years which was a wonderful experience. I now look forward to a long and leisurely retirement doing what I like most - gardening, photography, walking and travelling.

35 thoughts on “An Aussie Post Box”

  2. I like the vertical slot, Jude, makes a nice change. I well remember the previous series on these, you got some crackers sent in.
    Regards as always, Pete. x

  3. Very festive for the holiday season! I can picture greeting cards through the decades being slipped through the slot. Do you have family visiting this month??

    1. Actually took these photos just before last Christmas! Doesn’t seem a year since I arrived back from Sydney. And we will be visiting family just after Christmas so it will be quiet here as usual!

        2. Nursing hub after knee replacement surgery -it’s been time-consuming but he’s a good (impatient) patient and is recovering well. I started art journaling and re-learning my lost love of making books, along with hand-writing essays and memories. It’s a different thought process and contentment than being at the computer screen. The ‘tactile’ of various papers and ephemera is very appealing and I’m happily not judging results. I also dusted off my keyboard last month so every morning I have to choose an activity – not to mention still learning about my ‘new-ish’ camera and diving into book piles 😀 you?

          Our weather has been fabulous – great snow dumps in the mountains for skiers but warm walking weather here. Until this week – our first ‘big’ snowstorm with freezing temps. Do you get snow??

        3. You have been busy! Nice to be away from the screen though. I’m afraid I have been very lazy lately, winter makes me sloth-like. All my energy drains away. We rarely get much snow here, a few days at most, but this year is still unseasonably warm. Quite odd.

    1. Yes! So annoying too as I stayed in Marrickville some years ago when Ro lived there. Pre-digital though so I was careful with how many photos I took.

  6. Pretty little feller 🙂 I was just thinking the other day that it was a year since your Aussie trip. How’s MR these days? I do miss her around sometimes.

    1. A year today I arrived back home, in the cold and dark and wet! Not a happy bunny. Haven’t heard from M-R for a while, she was fighting being rehoused. She was a breath of fresh air in the blog world wasn’t she – such a stroppy beggar! In a nice way 🙂

Comments are closed.