Rima knows every letterbox in Te Kūiti

TE KŪITI’S sole postie Rima Maru works a six-day-week, biking 26 to 27 kilometres daily, to deliver letters and parcels across town, rain or shine.

For much of her 23-year-career, Rima has eaten her breakfast of porridge and yoghurt and then fronted up at the NZ Post depot in Rora St, between 4am and 5am.

Before heading out on her electric bicycle, Rima tackles a range of jobs at the depot, including un the cages containing parcels which arrive overnight from Hamilton, then organising the mail to be delivered by courier and rural delivery drivers.

With mail sent to town, Rima only needs to glance at a parcel to determine whether it will fit into the letterbox it has been addressed to.

She carries a mental image of each of roughly 1300 letterboxes in town, and only parcels she recognises as being able to fit into the box they’re addressed to get taken out on her bike that day. Those too large to fit are left for the NZ Post courier to deliver.

One of five sisters who came to town in the mid-60s, Rima, 59, has lived in Te Kūiti most of her life.  

She originally saw the postie job advertised in the then Waitomo News and on a whim decided it would be more enjoyable than applying for the other position advertised in that issue of the paper, which was one working at the hospital.

“I wanted something active and thought it would be nice to be working out in the open,” Rima said.

“It was a lot easier in those days, as I was initially taken on as a relief postie, for when one of the three full-time posties working in town were away on holiday, or sick.”  

When one of the permanent staff left, Rima was taken on as a permanent postie. And eventually, when the others left one-by-one, she was given sole charge of delivering all the mail the town received.  

How has the job changed over the years?

“Well, there has been a lot of changes; many of the businesses that were there for ages, like Fabia Shoes, have disappeared and quite a few new houses have been built.  

“Electric bikes make it far easier to pedal up the hills, than it was using an old-school NZ Post push bike. But you still do have to pedal, so despite what a lot of people seem to think, it’s not really an easy job.”

Rima also notes that winters seem to have become colder over the years, while this one had been the wettest she can remember.

Recently she has been donning multiple layers of warm clothing, topped off with two raincoats.

Another impression is that in various places some footpaths and even some sections of road seem to have subsided over the years.  

She divides town into two sections: About 700 businesses and residences on the west side of State Highway 3 and about 600 on the east side.

She tries to have her mail sorting finished and be onto her mail deliveries by between 7am and 8am, aiming to make all the deliveries required that day in one load.

“I am constantly timing myself to make sure that I am working efficiently; it’s nice to say ‘hi’ to people, but I just can’t afford to stop and chat for too long,” Rima said.

“It is a constant challenge to be finished by midday and then return to the depot to sort mail and do other jobs to get ready for the following day.”

Rima regards her job as an important service to the public, pointing out that the mail service must be secure.

So determined is she to see that the mail gets through, she has occasionally become a detective to find out a person’s new address. This can involve asking people she knows will have knowledge of the person’s whereabouts.

Interestingly, she has no understudy waiting in the wings to take over her mail deliveries if she can’t do it. She has also found it difficult to train up would-be replacements.

“Not long ago, I tried somebody for one day. She liked it but had kids and the limited hours meant it was a no-go.

“The weather also puts a lot of people off.”

Rima has had a few close calls over the years, but had never been knocked off her bike by a vehicle.

“It pays to be listening for cars the whole time. To me, this is as important to a cyclist as looking left and right before you cross the road is to a pedestrian.”  

Considering all the work that goes into delivering letters around the country each day, Rima does not think people should take their postal service for granted.

In her view, courier deliveries and emails are no real substitute for letters and cards.  

“For starters, a lot of elderly people still do not know how to send emails. They still like to do their business by post, and they love receiving cards.

“In fact, I think it is not just the elderly – because all of us like receiving cards.”

Theoretically, Rima believes in having early nights but admits the temptation of watching YouTube and playing video games often pushes the envelope in this regard.

Meanwhile, getting out of the house to start work on time can be a challenge at times, thanks to the temptation of watching breakfast television and the Discovery Channel.

Because of a years-long fascination with China, she really enjoys watching Chinese movies with English sub-titles.  

“One of my sisters and I were planning to have a holiday in China a few years ago but it fell through.

“However, I haven’t given up on the idea of one day seeing the Great Wall and the big cities like Beijing and Shanghai; a holiday in China is still on my list of things to do.”