From Dangar Island Historical Society

On New Years Day 1874 the original Peats Ferry Post Office was born. The first Postmaster was James Cole, who was awarded a contract to carry mail on horseback between Lane Cove & Gosford in 1861, and operated the punt across to Mooney Mooney at that time. Cole was Postmaster until his death in 1885, when he was buried on Bar Island.
The exact location of the original post office is not known, but it was likely close to the original school and police station. An 1882 sketch by George Collingridge, published in the Daily Mail in 1925, depicts a small building adjacent to the postmaster’s house, with a boatshed and jetty on the water. On 1st February 1877 a twice weekly mail coach service was started between Sydney, Hornsby & Brooklyn and onto Gosford & Kincumber, while on the water the S.S. Binghie, a small but fast steam launch owned by Peter Melvy, carried mail 3 days a week between Peats Ferry, Gentleman’s Flat, Lower Hawkesbury, Wisemans Ferry & Central McDonald (Windsor).
In July 1884 the PO opened a sub branch of the Government Savings Bank Of NSW on its premises. After the arrival of the train line to Brooklyn in 1887 it was renamed Brooklyn Post Office on 16th June 1888. As the new town centre sprung up around the station it was decided a new Post Office was needed in that area. Again, an exact date of its opening is not recorded, and Hornsby Council dates the building at circa 1910, but an article on 31st October 1908 describes the PO as “adjacent to the police station” and “100 yards from the railway station”so the new brick building at 13 Bridge St was definitely in existence at that time.
Shortly after, on 23rd December 1909, one of Brooklyn’s greatest scandals occurred when the Postmaster Carmel Willis Gee reported that £140 had been stolen from the safe while he was out the back of the office. However, he soon crumbled under questioning by Sydney detectives, and admitted he had stolen the money himself to fuel his gambling on horse racing over the course of nearly 3 years. The disgraced Postmaster, previously a Brooklyn pillar of society with an unblemished record, was sentenced to 9 months hard labour at Goulbourn Gaol.
After nearly a century of serving the community the 13 Bridge St PO ceased trading in April 1994 and was replaced with a mixed business LPO (Licenced Post Office) 5 doors up at 3 Bridge St. After 30 years at its current site the Brooklyn Post Office will close permanently on March 31st 2023, bringing to an end 149 years and 3 months of continuous service.
Rest in peace.

Before the 13 Bridge St brick building was built the Post Office was located on the OTHER side of the Police Station at 9 Bridge St?

From 1888 until 1906 the PO was actually located at the train station. Prior to that the old Peats Ferry PO had operated since 1874 at the site of the current cemetery. The Stationmaster was also the Postmaster and performed both duties concurrently. This was fine to start with but as Brooklyn’s popularity as a destination increased with more trains stopping, and the town center around it grew, local residents got fed up with ridiculous waiting times to change money orders and buy stamps. In June 1906 the Brooklyn Progress Association was formed and lobbied council for a dedicated PO building.

It didn’t take long. On 19th September 1906 the new PO opened for business. It was an existing weatherboard cottage leased by the government. Soon after, the Commonwealth invited tenders for a new site to buy, and the block of land on the other side of the police station was acquired, with the new brick building completed in 1914.

Huge thanks to Caelia Collins for the fantastic image!