Wayne Taylor, who lives at the Raureka Masonic Village, said his wife was one of many residents who relied on the Raureka branch.
“We just walk there,” he says.
“Now we’ll have to go to town … pay for parking, all of that.”
Wayne said people in the village are already preparing to act, with a petition now being organised.
“We don’t feel good about this branch closing.”
NZ Post said feedback on the closures would be considered, and it would respond to the feedback it received.
Betty Burns said she would miss the convenience of the Raureka branch.
“It’s disappointing,” she said.
“I use it at Christmas time, family birthdays, sending cards, this kind of thing, and I have sent parcels to great-grandchildren and all of that.”
Betty said the bus might be a possible solution to get her mail out.
“It’s a tiki tour around Flaxmere before you get to town, but I’ve got time. That’s what we will have to do, that’s inevitable.”
Bridge Pa resident Jo Harrison said she visited the Raureka branch weekly.
“I don’t go into the centre of town very often and it’s just easy to come here, easy to park and I enjoy the friendly staff,” Harrison said.
“It’s a huge loss for the Masonic Village residents as well. I hope this branch stays.”
One of those residents, who asked only to be known as Maggs, uses a walker to go to the post shop next door.
Twice a month she writes letters to her sister in Kerikeri, one of the few ways the sisters stay connected, as her sibling does not use a computer.
“The nearest one is in town … I’m not happy about having to drive to town to post a letter,” she says.
“The outcome of that will be that my sister won’t get much mail. It’s as simple as that.”
Maggs said the closure will cut off some residents entirely.
“It’s easier to go to a local post office … There’s a lot of people in this area who can’t drive. And there’s always someone in there posting something.”
Residents at Raureka Masonic Village are preparing a petition to stop their local NZ Post branch from closing. Photo / Rafaella Melo
In Frimley, Liz on Lowry bed and breakfast owner Liz Fogarty said she used the local branch often, both for guests and her personal returns.
“I wouldn’t know where to go now,” she said.
“The postal service is getting really limited. It’s a shame.”
In Napier, resident Stacey Giersbach uses the Onekawa branch at least once a week and said its closure would hit her and her 83-year-old mother particularly hard.
“I drive, but I’ve got osteoarthritis in both my knees, so I can’t walk far distances,” she says.
“My mum walks with a walker. We’re not going to places where there’s no parking and you have to pay in a meter.”
Giersbach said the shift to Marewa would be difficult.
“Marewa feels intimidating because of the homeless people.
“Once you’re inside it’s fine, but it’s always a really long line,” she said.
“In Onekawa I can zip in, do what I need to do, pick up milk, get veggies, go to the pharmacy. It’s a multi-stop place.”
Giersbach said the closures would disproportionately impact those who are not young, mobile or able to travel easily.
“For the elderly and the disabled, they’re not gonna go downtown … we need things in our community that are easy to access. I don’t think they’ve thought this through.”
NZ Post general manager consumer Sarah Sandoval said the changes followed an extensive national review and public consultation undertaken during MBIE’s update of the Deed of Understanding in 2025.
“Before making any decisions about the shape of our future network, NZ Post took a careful, evidence-based approach to understand how people are using NZ Post today,” she said.
Last year, NZ Post identified some stores that customers were “visiting less often” and advised store owners early so they could prepare.
Sandoval said the final decisions were based on “customer patterns, drive times, local insights and retail network data”.
“Ensuring access to our services is one of our top priorities, but we acknowledge these changes will be an adjustment for some customers,” she says.
“We have communicated these changes as early as possible, so that customers have time to plan.”