When Australia Post pulled the plug on Wallendbeen's post office in January, residents were unhappy at the prospect of having to drive to Coota to pick up their mail.
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Less than eleven months later, they are delighted that Australia Post treated them so off-handedly.
Wallendbeen has shown remarkable powers of resilience: within weeks the community banded together and set up a Community Postal Agency (CPA).
The CPA has been a fantastic success. The post office has moved from the derelict former service station at the cross roads up to the much nicer Wallendbeen Memorial Hall in King Street.
It's open weekdays 8-10am and 4.30-5.30pm, and staffed by volunteers, with Australia Post paying the specially-formed Wallendbeen Community Association (WCA) to run it.
The social life of the village has improved, with many friendships blossoming between volunteers and "customers" - and with the WCA holding regular meetings and social functions such as a riotous Samba dancing and music event at the pub last Easter, a long lunch street party attended by 145 seated guests in October and a Christmas lunch upstairs at the pub last Saturday.
It's also been a financial success with many thousands of dollars raised by WCA, ready to spend on projects in years to come.
