Community
24 July, 2026
June and Jane to retire
STALWARTS of the Camperdown Post Office are set to step into retirement as staff and customers say farewell to the beloved duo.
June Gungl and Jane Hately will be stepping away from the post office, with Mrs Gungl to finish at the end of this month while Ms Hately will be leaving at the end of August.
Mrs Gungl said she began working casually at the post office 42 years ago and initially helped out in the mailroom when needed.
“I occasionally got on the push bike and delivered parcels, carrying them in a little basket at the front,” she said.
“I used to have to come back to the post office and refill the parcels – back then, there were only about 10 parcels a day.
“In the afternoons, there were seven post boxes we’d have to empty – that was in 1984, and now there’s only two.
“I had been there around a year or two before they asked me if I’d like to go on the counter, and I was really nervous about going onto the counter.
“I eventually liked doing that job, and I was offered a permanent full-time job in 1986.”
Having come from Melbourne, Mrs Gungl said she enjoyed the community atmosphere of Camperdown.
“I came from Melbourne, where nobody knew you,” she said.
“Coming here, it feels like everybody’s family – you know everybody.
“I’ll miss the people – definitely the customers and the staff.
“They’re more like my friends than people I work with.”
Ms Hately said she started 37 years ago as a relief worker when Mrs Gungl went on a month-long holiday.
“After that, everybody took holidays, so I kept coming back – a month here and a month there – and then two years later I got a permanent position,” she said.
“From there, I became postal leader.
“I’m going to miss the customers.
“Around 10 years before I started at the post office, I worked at Lee’s Supermarket (now IGA) – I’ve had 49 years working on Manifold Street.
“The same customers from Lee’s were the same customers who came to the post office, so I’ll miss them as well as the team.”
Both Mrs Gungl and Ms Hately have seen many changes throughout their time at the post office, from the decline of letters and increase of parcels through to the introduction of retail into the post office.
“There used to be so many letters – we’d spend all day sorting letters into all these big pigeonholes for all the different areas,” Mrs Gungl said.
“It was also busy at the counter with letters, and people would come in and pay bills such as phone and electricity bills.
“There was nothing to buy at the front – it was just a post office with a great big high counter.”
Ms Hately said there were many highlights during their time at the post office, including seeing some customers grow up.
“When we first started doing passports, we’d do a baby’s passport and now they’re coming back and bringing their children in to do their passports,” she said.
“One of our highlights was celebrating the 150th birthday of the post office, which was a really lovely thing.
“We gathered a lot of history on the post office which we handed over to the historical society, which has been great.
“We’ve had some beautiful customers – some of the highlights was one long-term customer’s 100th birthday, which June and I attended.
“We’ve also got our favourite dogs which come in, and we’d always have a Smacko for them.”
Mrs Gungl said she was most looking forward to spending more time with family.
“I’m looking forward to a bit of travel and fixing up the old farmhouse,” she said.
“I’ll also see my kids and grandkids more – they’re all in Ballarat.”
Ms Hately shared Mrs Gungl’s sentiment.
“I’m looking forward to spending more time withy my friends and family and doing some travelling,” she said.
The duo will have a joint retirement celebration on Friday, July 31 (next week).
Read More: Camperdown