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In the 50 years since she took over the Dartmoor post office, Karen Pratt has seen change inside the post office and in the town around her. For World Post Day 2026, POAAL celebrates Karen's dedication and commitment to the people of Dartmoor.
She and her husband Kevin purchased the non-official post office and adjoining residence 50 years ago, taking over in December 1976 what was known as a Stand Alone post office.
Karen has seen many changes to the postal business in the past five decades, one of which was becoming the Licensee and another being the introduction of the counter technology which came with being a Licensed Post Office.
In her early days in the Dartmoor PO it was completely manually operated and balancing was performed on the then FAP1 form, which those who were around in the pre-LPO era will recall with a grimace. Although, as Karen points out, it was easier to pick up an error under the manual FAP1 system!
Karen welcomed becoming a Licensee under the LPO Agreement as it gave her visibility and payment for every action she performed, as opposed to the previous system of payment bands which gave little incentive to increase business levels. It also meant that she could try her hand at selling Postpak and other Australia Post products over the years as customer demand changed.
The post office has a residence attached, meaning there’s no commute for Karen other than stepping through a door from the house to the post office!
Karen is in the PO by 9.00am and the mail arrives by contractor from Heywood at 10.00am. It’s a tight schedule for the next couple of hours as she sorts mail to PO Boxes and for counter delivery while preparing the outward mail for pick-up at 11.30am.
There’s no mail delivery in Dartmoor, so locals collect their mail from their PO Box or over the counter.
Karen is an integral and vital part of the community, serving her community with confidence, charm and experience.
Dartmoor is a rural township in southwestern Victoria, located between Heywood and the South Australian border. It has a population of around 200.
The first post office in Dartmoor opened in 1860.
Dartmoor has changed over the past 50 years, Karen says, with the biggest change triggered by the closure of the local timber mill.
Pine plantations in the area provided the trees for the local sawmill, which employed 70 to 80 people. When the mill closed there was a massive exodus from the area, as people left town to look for employment elsewhere. This exodus had a big impact on the post office business – as well as other businesses in the town.
The local school also felt the effect of all those families leaving town. The primary school caters for K-6 classes and this year has 21 students.
These days, the other two businesses in the township are a general store and a hotel.
Over her 50 years of service at Dartmoor LPO, Karen has only had one break away from the post office – and that was to go to Australia Post headquarters in Melbourne for training in the new post office point-of-sale system!
While she doesn’t get a break from the business, her husband Kevin - who is now retired - does help out with the heavy parcels when needed.
To commemorate the service of locals who served in World War One, the Dartmoor Avenue of Honour was created. Originally, it was a single row of 60 cedar trees, which were planted on 7 August 1918.
In the 1990s, some of the trees were found to be unsafe. Rather than simply felling the trees, a chainsaw artist created nine sculptures from the trees, reflecting people and themes of war. (Photo at top of article.)
About World Post Day
World Post Day is celebrated each year on 9 October. The event was declared by the 1969 Universal Postal Congress in Tokyo as a means to mark the anniversary of the Universal Postal Union's creation in 1874.
The purpose of World Post Day is to bring awareness to the Post's role in the everyday lives of people and businesses, as well as its contribution to global social and economic development.
