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The Great Australian Farm Gate

Someone could do a PhD on the Australian Farm Gate and its associated mailboxes. They range from the practical and unimaginative to the whimsical and highly creative. Some are feats of engineering, and works of art. I don’t know what inspires this, but a small offering of the many I have passed is below.

Letter boxes need to hold the mail. They need to keep it dry. They need to stop the wind blowing the mail away. Some people are ever hopeful of large deliveries. Others seem to think nothing larger than a letter will come.

There are trends. The old favourite, the fridge, is unfashionable. Perhaps this is because too many  children have been trapped and died. I saw only one. The traditional standby, the 4 gallon or 12 gallon drum is still abundant. Sadly, many folk opt for mail order letter boxes which are little bits of metal no different from the tinny stuff we use in the suburbs.  But imagination still reigns. There is hope!

If you place your mouse over the slide, you can use the back and forwards buttons to over-ride the slide show.

Imagine being a lass coming up here, 30 miles from the nearest town, and that's only a roadhouse and a has been railway siding. There's not even a sign on the gate.
And then she ends up in under the hills, another ten miles in.
The basic farm letter box is the recycled oil drum, preferably 12 gallon. 44 is overdoing it, five is a bit small.
But any recycled container will do. Chemicals, paint, frying fat, even a milk churn.
Drainage is important. The mouth should face slightly down. This is a little too steep perhaps, and risks the heavier items sliding out.
Here's our basic 12 gallon model again.
Sometimes the recycling of chemical containers has another purpose: "Turn off at the tree with the bottles."
Classier letterboxes tend to have a door.
Not that fancy, but you can sit down and read at the gate.
Quite a nice chair, really!
Some of us just don't need a mailbox- (unless they use the tyre!)
The imitation farmhouse is quite popular. Obviously these are the local bluebloods.
We've never quite found one that pleases us.
There's the plain formal look.
Some go for solid.
The Old, The Garden Shed, and The New.
Some house models don't bother with the door.
Some gates are just elegant!
Others are informative. There was also a warning about closed circuit TV surveillance on this emu and ostrich farm.
Creative! The farm sign is welded together ploughshares
Then there is the whimsical.
And the new model which has superseded the traditional fridge.
The fridge.
The microwave.
The airconditioner.
The people in between just don't measure up.
The elegant beer barrel mode. I've seen a number of these.
Another house variation.
This is the mountain shack style, with the farm name chiseled into the log along side.
The Log.
The House in the Wall.
Petrol heads?
Ned Kelly and friends.
The theme letterbox. It's actually pointed up at the Siding Springs Observatory.
Was this a woolwasher? Tell me.
The Granddaddy of them all!
Elegant welding job using discs from a plough. The letter box is over three feet in diameter.
All good letter boxes have a rock if they have no door.
And to keep the mail dry there is usually something in the bottom. Cheap folk use a bit of stray weldmesh. The really serious folk raid an old regrigerator.
  • Imagine being a lass coming up here, 30 miles from the nearest town, and that's only a roadhouse and a has been railway siding. There's not even a sign on the gate.
  • And then she ends up in under the hills, another ten miles in.
  • The basic farm letter box is the recycled oil drum, preferably 12 gallon. 44 is overdoing it, five is a bit small.
  • But any recycled container will do. Chemicals, paint, frying fat, even a milk churn.
  • Drainage is important. The mouth should face slightly down. This is a little too steep perhaps, and risks the heavier items sliding out.
  • Here's our basic 12 gallon model again.
  • Sometimes the recycling of chemical containers has another purpose:
  • Classier letterboxes tend to have a door.
  • Not that fancy, but you can sit down and read at the gate.
  • Quite a nice chair, really!
  • Some of us just don't need a mailbox- (unless they use the tyre!)
  • The imitation farmhouse is quite popular. Obviously these are the local bluebloods.
  • We've never quite found one that pleases us.
  • There's the plain formal look.
  • Some go for solid.
  • The Old, The Garden Shed, and The New.
  • Some house models don't bother with the door.
  • Some gates are just elegant!
  • Others are informative. There was also a warning about closed circuit TV surveillance on this emu and ostrich farm.
  • Creative! The farm sign is welded together ploughshares
  • Then there is the whimsical.
  • And the new model which has superseded the traditional fridge.
  • The fridge.
  • The microwave.
  • The airconditioner.
  • The people in between just don't measure up.
  • The elegant beer barrel mode. I've seen a number of these.
  • Another house variation.
  • This is the mountain shack style, with the farm name chiseled into the log along side.
  • The Log.
  • The House in the Wall.
  • Petrol heads?
  • Ned Kelly and friends.
  • The theme letterbox. It's actually pointed up at the Siding Springs Observatory.
  • Was this a woolwasher? Tell me.
  • The Granddaddy of them all!
  • Elegant welding job using discs from a plough. The letter box is over three feet in diameter.
  • All good letter boxes have a rock if they have no door.
  • And to keep the mail dry there is usually something in the bottom. Cheap folk use a bit of stray weldmesh. The really serious folk raid an old regrigerator.

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