New Zealand Post yesterday announced its intention to close the Dunedin metro post office and Kiwibank outlet in Princes St, citing low patronage and the proximity of other stores.
The eight staff may be redeployed elsewhere or face redundancy.
The Exchange area, in Princes St south of the Octagon, was once the commercial heart of Dunedin.
The city's first post office started in a private house nearby in 1848, and the ornate post office, which later became the stock exchange building and gave the area its name, was opened there in the late 1860s.
The Moray Pl post office, north of the Octagon, is about 1.1km away, but regular customers approached yesterday said they preferred to use the Exchange post office because it was closer for them, parking was easier, the queues were shorter and the staff were friendly and helpful.
Alice Burrell (82) said the closure would be "disgusting".
"They [the Government] are shutting everything but they are not being mean on themselves."
She said she had been using a post office in the Exchange since she was a young woman.
She worked for Hallenstein Brothers in Dowling St for many years and used the chief post office in Princes St.
"This was always where people came to do their business."
Maritime Union organiser Victor Billot said he was "enraged" by the decision and planned to protest to New Zealand Post in the hope the decision would be overturned. He has started a Facebook campaign urging others to protest too.
He said the union used Kiwibank and the post office almost every day, and both he and his wife were personal Kiwibank customers.
"This is a jackass of a decision ... This is a very busy post office in a central part of town. Going elsewhere is going to be really inconvenient for a lot of people, especially businesses."
New Zealand Post has been reviewing its services for months as the number of face-to-face customers at post offices and Kiwibank outlets falls and more people switch to online banking and bill payments.
Yesterday it announced the closure of seven post offices around the country and the loss of some services at a further seven. The changes would affect 90 staff.
Two weeks ago, the Kiwibank outlet in Mornington, which operated as a franchise, closed and the outlet also stopped processing bill payments accepted at full post offices.
A staff member yesterday said customer reaction to that decision had been "hugely negative".
POST OFFICE CLOSURE
• Eight staff affected.
• Post office boxes likely to remain.
• May close as soon as next month.
• Self-service kiosks to be introduced at other stores to reduce customer waiting times.
