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Strathmerton post office reopens again

Committed: Volunteer Tania Bell and Strathmerton Community Steering Committee chair Kerry Murray are working to keep the post office open. Photo by Jamie Salter

Strathmerton post office has reopened after being shut down for more than two months.

Operations were suspended at the post office, after an incident where emergency services were called to Strathmerton Roadhouse on Murray Valley Hwy about 1.15am on August 8, police said.

John Burke, who ran the post office, was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

The Strathmerton postmaster died in hospital early Thursday.

Police had charged a Numurkah man, 42, with recklessly causing serious injury.

Since the closure, the Strathmerton community, Australia Post and the Burke family have rallied to reopen the post office doors.

Strathmerton Community Steering Committee chair Kerry Murray said local residents did not want to lose the vital service.

“We have a large, older population that need the post office,” she said.

“It’s not just about mail, it’s about making payments when they have no other way, and it’s also hard for some people to travel to Cobram ― so it’s been really inconvenient for them.

“The post office has been extremely busy since we reopened and we’re astounded by how many parcels we have.”

About seven volunteers will donate their time to run the post office.

“The response from volunteers shows how much we value it and that we will do anything to make sure it keeps going,” Ms Murray said.

“We congratulate Australia Post and the Burke family for understanding the value of the post office.”

The post office will be open three days a week on Monday from 9am to 1pm, Wednesday from 2pm to 4.30pm and Friday from 10am to 4.30pm.

Full post office services will be provided on Fridays, including banking, posting, stamps and gift cards.

“All the volunteers are trying to make sure we don’t lose the post office in our community,” volunteer Tania Bell said.

Mrs Bell said a community raffle raised more than $1000 for the Burke family.

“We asked for donations and ended up with 11 different prizes ― we’re lucky we’ve got a great little community that supported it,” she said.

A GoFundMe page for the late Mr Burke raised more than $4000.