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Letter with a long history; posted on September 28, 1988
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DescriptionThis is a photograph of a letter sent by Kim Stewart, on September 28th, 1988.
The photograph appeared alongside a story in the October 25, 1988, edition of the Leader. The story was printed as follows:
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"Letter of Woe: This is the sad tale of a letter. The sender of the letter decided to use New Zealand Post's guaranteed delivery of letters addressed in Māori.
On September 28, the letter, addressed to a box number in Ōrongomai (Upper Hutt), was posted from the Upper Hutt Post Office.
On Tuesday, October 11, the letter turned up at the return address in Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington).
In that time, the letter had been sent to Lower Hutt, Eketāhuna (there is a place called Rongomai there), and Thames (which boasts Orongo, a small settlement about 9km away).
Also written on the envelope were "Not Auckland" and "RD4", and a stamp bearing the words "insufficiently addressed".
So the sender of the letter rang the Ōrongomai Marae and was told yes, the letter should have gone to the Upper Hutt box number, since Ōrongomai was a correct name.
Then the sender rang New Zealand Post's Upper Hutt branch to see if they knew the Māori name for Upper Hutt, and if the letter should have been delivered as New Zealand Post promised.
Yes, New Zealand Post would deliver letters addressed in Māori, but no, they didn't know the Māori name for Upper Hutt.
Although they offered Heretaunga (there are three places of that name, in Palmerston North, Hastings, and Upper Hutt).
Then the owner rang the district manager's office in Wellington to see if Ōrongomai was on the list of Māori place names. "No", the owner was informed, "we only have the big places".
Upper Hutt has a population of 36,000 - does this mean it's small?
But to their credit, New Zealand Post did recognise Whanganui-a-Tara as Wellington, so the letter did get reunited with its sender.
Honestly, the problem of getting a letter from the box outside the Upper Hutt Post Office, to a box inside."
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Date TakenOctober 1988
The photograph appeared alongside a story in the October 25, 1988, edition of the Leader. The story was printed as follows:
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
"Letter of Woe: This is the sad tale of a letter. The sender of the letter decided to use New Zealand Post's guaranteed delivery of letters addressed in Māori.
On September 28, the letter, addressed to a box number in Ōrongomai (Upper Hutt), was posted from the Upper Hutt Post Office.
On Tuesday, October 11, the letter turned up at the return address in Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington).
In that time, the letter had been sent to Lower Hutt, Eketāhuna (there is a place called Rongomai there), and Thames (which boasts Orongo, a small settlement about 9km away).
Also written on the envelope were "Not Auckland" and "RD4", and a stamp bearing the words "insufficiently addressed".
So the sender of the letter rang the Ōrongomai Marae and was told yes, the letter should have gone to the Upper Hutt box number, since Ōrongomai was a correct name.
Then the sender rang New Zealand Post's Upper Hutt branch to see if they knew the Māori name for Upper Hutt, and if the letter should have been delivered as New Zealand Post promised.
Yes, New Zealand Post would deliver letters addressed in Māori, but no, they didn't know the Māori name for Upper Hutt.
Although they offered Heretaunga (there are three places of that name, in Palmerston North, Hastings, and Upper Hutt).
Then the owner rang the district manager's office in Wellington to see if Ōrongomai was on the list of Māori place names. "No", the owner was informed, "we only have the big places".
Upper Hutt has a population of 36,000 - does this mean it's small?
But to their credit, New Zealand Post did recognise Whanganui-a-Tara as Wellington, so the letter did get reunited with its sender.
Honestly, the problem of getting a letter from the box outside the Upper Hutt Post Office, to a box inside."
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Date TakenOctober 1988Part of
About the original
Reference1988 10 25 04FormatGreyscale photocopy.Size238 x 138 mm
FormatGreyscale photocopy.Size238 x 138 mmScanned byDon McLeod
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Letter with a long history; posted on September 28, 1988. Upper Hutt Libraries, accessed 21/08/2026, https://uhcl.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/26259