By NARELLE COULTER
THROUGH rain, hail and shine, Merle Leak ensured her neighbours received their weekly copy of the Journal for more than 20 years.
Merle was a familiar sight around her Noble Park neighbourhood pushing her ‘jeep’ full of newspapers and catalogues.
In 1991 Merle was featured in the Journal in the lead-up to delivers’ day.
According to the paper, the day was held annually to “pay tribute to all those who deliver suburban newspapers”.
Although Merle can’t remember anything special happening on delivers’ day, she does look back fondly on her days of slipping Journals into letterboxes around her Page Court home.
Merle arrived in Melbourne from South Africa in 1984 and in June of the same year started working as a ‘walker’ for distribution company Salmat.
He patch was the area around Dunblane, Jasper, Bowmore and Callander streets, Noble Park.
Mere pushed a shopping ‘jeep’ taking her one-year-old daughter along with her when there was enough space in the jeep.
“Eventually I got to know people in Callander who used to look after her,” she said with a laugh.
“The Journal was heavy at that time and I couldn’t fit them all in the jeep so I’d have to make three trips, walking home each time to fill up with papers.
“You had to go out whatever the weather. I didn’t like it when there was a storm, I’d often have to shelter on people’s front porch.”
Merle delivered the Journal on a Monday and catalogues on the weekend.
She remembers Christmas being “the worst”. She would work for six to eight hours a day, folding catalogues then delivering them.
A repair man in Mornington serviced her jeep every couple of years and replaced the wheels.
“I was lucky that I was never sick. In all those years I only took four days off.”
She eventually retired her jeep when arthritis meant she could no longer handle the physical demands of the job.
Merle is still an avid reader of the Journal and was delighted to hear of its milestone anniversary.
“I’ve been very lucky,” she said.
“I knew everybody. I saw their kids grow up. I just liked being out and walking.”
