Machrie postbox reminds creator of his beloved Arran
An Australian man who was born in Lamlash has recreated a memento from his youth by building a replica of the Machrie postbox on his 100-acre property in Wollombi, New South Wales.
Graham Kinnear passed the Machrie postbox many times as a child on his way to see Archie and Mary Mcaermott, who lived in Gate Cottage on String Road.
Those memories have stuck with him ever since the 1940s and now, living in Australia with his Scottish-born wife, Anne, Graham was convinced that the rainforest hillside beside the house needed a reminder of Arran.
The nine-tonne postbox has been reproduced as a garden sculpture, hidden away in the mist and hills, where the greatest attempt to capture all of the detail of the original Machrie postbox has been made, including using the same Permian sandstone that was quarried locally in Wollombi, and the same stone mason’s markings are engraved on the stone.
Graham said: ‘Nothing can reproduce the weathering and lichens of the original but, hopefully, it will get there in time.
Sitting among the ironbarks, the stringybarks and the grey gums, the postbox is expected to en- dure the storms, bush fires and floods for centuries to come.
‘It is at home with the kindred spirits of this land, comfortable in its isolation, yet linked to memories of yonder time. The little reminder we have here of Arran brings us a lot of joy.
‘Arran is a mystical place with a great spiritual presence and is almost magical in the atmosphere it creates. If you have come from the land there, no matter how far away you are, it still holds its attraction and lure.
‘The spirits of the rainforest rocks and trees here in Wollombi embrace a kindred spirit from Arran.’