Spending the entirety of his career using a push-bike, Anthony estimated the number of deliveries he’s made to be in the millions.
“If I averaged 500 houses a day, over five days a week in 50 years, that’s 24,000 deliveries each year,” Anthony said.
Now he’s been awarded with a commemorative badge by Australia Post in recognition of half a century of service as a postman.
Anthony began work in the Postmaster General’s Department in 1975 as a Christmas casual before landing a junior full-time role.
He recalled one of his fondest memories while on the job, which happened to involve a local reporter.
“Before the 2000 Olympics started, there was a torch ceremony on Belmore Street,” he said.
“The media were on the back of a moving truck recording the runners exchanging the Olympic torch.
“A local reporter had missed the ride, so he looked at me and asked, ‘Ants can you get me up to the truck?’.
“So he jumped on the back of my bike, and we rode up through an entourage of policemen who gave us both a dirty scale.
“I got the local reporter to the truck, and he jumped on in time to get whatever he needed.”
Anthony said he built great relationships with many people who had come and gone around him at the post office.
“I worked with some great fellas, the posties and I would play football and cricket matches against other post offices,” Anthony said.
“It was a really friendly type of environment with a great social club.”
He said a bizarre, yet common delivery he had made several times involved the transportation of bees.
“It was quite common because the beekeepers would come up here and collect pollen off the canola crops, and sometimes they don’t carry the queen bee with them,” he said.
“I’d hear the bees buzzing right at the back of me while on a delivery run.”
Anthony’s wife, Marilyn Martin followed in her husband’s footsteps by joining Australia Post as a mail contractor when she first moved to Australia from the Philippines, spending four years in the position.
Yarrawonga Post Office manager Justin Maley said Anthony had always been a pleasure to work with.
“He’s very passionate,” Justin said.
“If you were to sit down and have a coffee with him, he’d probably talk for half an hour about Australia Post.”
Last month, Anthony was surrounded by colleagues at the Yarrawonga Post Office where he received a commemorative medal, certificate and cake in his honour of his 50 years of service.
Australia Post chief executive Paul Graham personally phoned Anthony to congratulate him.
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