Post office on wheels

A cover made by Punggol Stamp Club.

An interesting cover I found bearing the letters M.P.O.I. on their postmarks which means that this cover was cancelled on a mobile post office. Mobile post offices were first used in 1955 to serve remote areas of the community in Singapore without a post office. They travelled on a fixed route and timing, so people would know when to send their mail. These mobile post offices also accepted parcels, sold stamps and postal stationery. The mobile post office service ended in the 1980s, when more and more standing post offices were available to serve the public. On the back of the cover, there is a faint postmark that reads “Kallang Basin”.

Mail collected by a MPO, sent to delivery office at Kallang Basin Post Office. 

Mobile post office vans serving at remote residential areas.
Image source: National Archives of Singapore

Opening of a new post office at Kallang Basin in April 1974 to serve the postal needs of residents.
Image source: Ministry of Information and the Arts





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