It marked the end of a titanic struggle with officialdom which had long refused mail deliveries to a cluster of new homes in his area. 

The saga has involved countless trips to the post office, frustrated inquiries to Australia Post and letters to politicians which spun in circles. 

That letter in Mr Szynal’s unused mail box yesterday was from Australia Post and it delivered the good news.

“Following a safety review of the housing development… Australia Post is committed to commencing street letter deliveries,” the letter read. 

“I couldn’t have been happier,” Mr Szynal said. 

“Everyone at work had the biggest smiles across their faces. 

“Finally we have entered into the 21^st century.” 

Three years ago when Mr Szynal moved into his new home on Bradshaw Crescent – a new estate at the end of Casuarina Street – homes were still being planned and built. 

With trucks frequenting the estate and the ongoing construction of houses, Mr Szynal said he did not expect mail at first. 

“I had inquired with the local post office about how to get mail delivered to my house, but I was brushed off as the estate was in the development stages,” he said. 

He set up a PO Box instead.

“I went on a overseas trip with the RAAF at about the same time as the public vote on same-sex marriage. When I got home I realised I had no mail in my post office box. No voting letter. 

“My PO Box had been cancelled because Australia Post thought the delivery issue had been fixed, but local post officials said they couldn’t deliver my mail to my letter box because the estate hadn’t been released to council. 

“I drove to council who used the tired old line ‘do your bins get emptied? Then your estate has been released.’

Then he claimed deliveries were refused because his street was not yet on Google Maps. 

“I mean what did they do before Google Maps?” Mr Szynal said. 

Mr Szynal claimed he was receiving contrasting responses from the local post office and Australia Post. 

Years went by, the estate was well and truly established, the homes were all built, trees were planted and growing and green lawns lined a wide bitumen road. 

“I could see the postie delivering from my front driveway, so close, it wasn’t out of his way – the street isn’t remote,” he said. 

“It felt like the old Katherine mentality I hadn’t witnessed too much off, like it is too much effort. 

“I have lived in brand new estates in NSW and have never had an issue, I was getting mail within the first week.”

He recruited neighbours to join him in the fight.

They began a long campaign including posts on Australia Post’s website, emails to politicians, even a YouTube video showing the normalcy of the suburb, to finally win through.

“One person commented on the [Australia Post] public forum that they thought the street would look like a ghetto,” Mr Szynal said. 

“It almost came down to Katherine Town Council needing to build a footpath, but a video my mate captured showing a postie riding along the grass put an end to that. 

“I was so sick of it. It had been three years and I was going to make this happen. I was on fire.”

It was the threat of going online that made Australia Post react quickly to the request, Mr Szynal said. 

“It was a huge time waster, I would go into the post office on Saturday mornings and stand at the window to see if I had mail, sometimes to find I had nothing,” he said. 

“On Christmas I missed a small gift from my niece because I couldn’t get to the post office.

“The whole thing was just so ridiculous.”

Mr Szynal, who works at Tindal RAAF Base, was due to be posted out at the beginning of this year and would not have received a single letter to his house if he had left on time.  

Having decided to see out the year, he said he is looking forward to sleeping in on Saturdays. 

“It will be nice to have the normality of coming home and checking my mail box, like everyone else.”

An Australia Post spokeswoman said: “We are delighted to announce that with construction being completed around the estate, from Tuesday, January 29 mail will be delivered to residents living on Bradshaw Crescent, Hamdorf Street, and Cormack Street.

“Letters have been sent today to residents letting them know of the changes.

“We would like to thank the community for their patience, and will continue to monitor construction so we can expand delivery when it is safe to do so.”

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