The people of Long Flat and beyond have been paying tribute to their former postmistress, Kath Carey, who served the community for an incredible 70 years and will be much missed.
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A funeral service and wake for this much loved lady will be held this Friday, September 6, at the Senior Citizens Centre at High Street in Wauchope, beside the library, at 10am.
Everyone in the village of Long Flat knew Kath, who worked in the post office there from the age of 17 until she retired at 87. Two years ago, she told the Wauchope Gazette that that was why she went on working for so long, and that she loved the people of Long Flat.
Kath used to rise before 5am and ran the post office Monday to Friday from 8am to 5pm. After seven decades, she said she wouldn't miss the early mornings.
Born in Taree, she came to Long Flat aged 12 with her parents, who took over the store, which included the post office. As a teenager, Kath boarded at the Presbyterian Ladies College in Sydney, made new friends, but was always glad to come home in the holidays. She recalled taking the steam train to Wauchope, on a journey that sometimes took 12 hours.
At 17, she began working in the shop, and ran the manual telephone exchange. Only a few businesses had phones, including the hotel, the number of which was Long Flat One.
Kath married a widower, Lance Carey, when she was 27, and became stepmother to his three sons. She went on working in the store and post office, and her father took over a bakery in Long Flat.
Her husband died in 1971 and her father helped her to buy a house in Long Flat. She got permission to move the post office there.
In recent years, when Kath wasn't well, her friend Jan O'Neill came from Wauchope to keep the post office open, and Kath said she was a very good assistant.
Her cat, Bella, was a stray brought to her by a neighbour, and loved to keep Kath company in the post office. Customers often brought her treats.
Local people took to the What's On In Long Flat Facebook page to pay tribute to Kath, remembering her as an amazing lady, a kind, caring and gentle soul, and a true treasure.
Kate Mumford who now works at the post office said Kath was the loveliest lady with the best sense of humour, who loved a good joke.
"Everyone loved her. She always welcomed new people to Long Flat. She had a beautiful rose garden and when you came to collect your post, your could smell the lovely scent of the flowers. She was a wonderful lady who will be very much missed," she said.
Michelle Partridge from the Long Flat Pre-school said she was a very special lady.
"Everybody would go to pick up their mail from Kath, except people on the outskirts of Long Flat, who got their post delivered. Kath was always very pleasant, and she cared for everyone in the community," she said.