{"id":239001,"date":"2026-01-18T02:47:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T02:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/239001\/"},"modified":"2026-01-18T02:47:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T02:47:10","slug":"australian-artists-impulsive-act-sparks-magic-post-box-restoration-crusade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/239001\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian artist’s impulsive act sparks ‘magic’ post box restoration crusade"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mick Slocum’s on a quest to resurrect a bit of Victorian history.<\/p>\n

Nearly 200 bits, in fact.<\/p>\n

The 76-year-old former Bushwackers band member is two years into his passion project, for which he travels the state refurbishing colonial-era postboxes \u2014 known as pillar boxes.<\/p>\n

It’s a job he believes is best done in period costume: often a tartan three-piece suit and a straw boater hat.<\/p>\n

And it all started on an impulse.<\/p>\n

“I was going through an anti-graffiti campaign,” Mr Slocum said at a pillar box restoration in Albert Park.<\/p>\n

“I bought some solvent and went and cleaned off the graffiti [from a pillar box].<\/p>\n

“Then I stood back and \u2026 I thought goodness me, I think I’ll just keep going.”<\/p>\n

\"Mick<\/p>\n

Depending on their condition, Mick Slocum can spend weeks restoring historic pillar boxes. (ABC News: Scott Jewell)<\/p>\n

Scrapers, some paint, and a passion for history<\/p>\n

Mr Slocum’s creative whim sprouted a personal campaign to restore every pillar box in the state.<\/p>\n

After hearing about his first refurb, Australia Post offered Mick payment for every completed pillar. A supplier also provides paint.<\/p>\n

Without any modern tools, he’s scratched, scraped and painted pillars throughout Melbourne and across regional Victoria.<\/p>\n

Each refurb takes between a couple of days and several weeks.<\/p>\n

It’s a task undertaken in the heat and cold, and along roads busy or quiet \u2014 and one that reliably draws curious onlookers, as well as offers to help.<\/p>\n

“The gentleman whose [Albert Park] house I’m working out the front of came out and greeted me like a long-lost brother,” Mr Slocum said.<\/p>\n

“That’s actually the best part \u2014 meeting the people.”<\/p>\n

\"Mick<\/p>\n

Mick Slocum’s restorations bring vibrant colour to Victorian streetscapes. (Supplied: Mick Slocum)<\/p>\n

Secrets hidden beneath the surface<\/p>\n

Pillar boxes were introduced in Australia in the 1850s.<\/p>\n

Many were produced in several different styles at foundries in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

Pillar boxes were key to communication in a time before the telephone and, along roads where cars and trams now zip by, horse-mounted postmen would have stopped multiple times a day to empty each one.<\/p>\n

“The juxtaposition of what [an area] used to be like and what it is now is just extraordinary,” Mr Slocum said.<\/p>\n

“I’m kind of bringing that back in a way \u2014 that’s the magic of it.”<\/p>\n

When the pillars were decommissioned, starting in the 1960s, they were sealed shut and were slathered with a bland, red coat of paint.<\/p>\n

It’s this dull coating Mick first shaves away before sanding and eventually returning the pillars back to their original colours \u2014 usually bright red, gold, and green.<\/p>\n

The strips that come away with every scrape of Mick’s knife can hint at a pillar’s secret past: often revealing layers of colours which have been hidden for decades.<\/p>\n

And some discoveries beneath the topcoat can be breathtaking.<\/p>\n

Mick’s fascinating finds in the past year include a delicate golden crown painted on a pillar box in Collingwood, which he believed was likely added ahead of Queen Elizabeth’s visit in 1954.<\/p>\n

In Jolimont, Mick uncovered a notice for collection times \u2014 which he estimated dated from the 1920s.<\/p>\n

“But it could have even been from the 1800s,” Mr Slocum said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Scraping away the thick top coat on the pillars can reveal hidden secrets. (Supplied: Mick Slocum)<\/p>\n

Boxes on the decline<\/p>\n

There are about 180 pillar boxes in Victoria, but there were once thousands.<\/p>\n

And it’s not just the historic boxes that have disappeared from street corners.<\/p>\n

With the rise of the internet and telephones, sending a letter has largely become a thing of the past and the number of modern post boxes has declined as well.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Australia Post has removed some receiving boxes in recent years.<\/p>\n

In May 2025, Mick received a National Trust conservation award for his work in Ballarat \u2014 where he’s refurbished 16 pillar boxes.<\/p>\n

“He’s provided a real highlight of the joy that heritage can spark in people’s lives,” said Sam Westbrook, executive manager of conservation and advocacy at National Trust.<\/p>\n

70 down, 100 to go<\/p>\n

Mick’s nearly halfway to his target and has about 100 pillar box restorations to go.<\/p>\n

But his unshakable passion for the colourful and creative means he already has his sights on his next project \u2014 once he’s signed off on the final pillar box.<\/p>\n

“In the CBD on every street corner there’s an electricity box from the 1920s and 1930s,” he said.<\/p>\n

“So far I’ve restored two, and there are about 50 to go.”<\/p>\n

\"Mick<\/p>\n

Mick Slocum scrapes, scratches and paints pillar boxes across Victoria (ABC News: Scott Jewell)<\/p>\n

For now, he’s focused on the main task \u2014 a project taken one pillar at a time.<\/p>\n

“I always hope that one day I’ll find a key that opens one of the boxes, and it’ll be full of mail from the 1890s,” Mr Slocum said with wide eyes and an eager smile.<\/p>\n

“You just never know.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mick Slocum’s on a quest to resurrect a bit of Victorian history. Nearly 200 bits, in fact. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239002,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[442,498,499,500,140856,501,156,140857,111,139,69,140854,140855,140858,6756],"class_list":{"0":"post-239001","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-australia-post","13":"tag-design","14":"tag-entertainment","15":"tag-mick-slocum","16":"tag-new-zealand","17":"tag-newzealand","18":"tag-nz","19":"tag-pillar-box","20":"tag-post-box","21":"tag-post-office","22":"tag-restoration"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239001\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}