They can’t fly from the flag pole outside, but rainbow colours are flowing into the Cobargo Post Office.
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After the announcement of their engagement on Wednesday, Australia Post licencees David Wilson and Kyle Moser have been inundated with messages and gifts of congratulations from their community.
The engagement occurred on the same day the couple was ordered by Australia Post to remove a rainbow flag from the front of their store.
On Friday, the Cobargo post office was filled with an assortment of rainbow objects, from balloons to photo frames and even bandaids, delivered by customers in celebration and solidarity.
“Our policeman dropped in a bottle of champagne yesterday, we’ve had Kylie [Minouge] playing all morning, so there has been a lot of celebrating in here,” Mr Wilson said.
Cobargo resident James Gunner stopped into the post office on Friday to deliver a collection of multi-coloured paper cranes made by his six-year-old daughter, Edith.
Edith had noticed the flag was missing from the post office on Wednesday. After her father explained the situation, she decided to make the origami gift for Mr Wilson and Mr Moser.
Mr Wilson was sad to see the rainbow flag taken down, but was glad it had provoked conversation in the community.
“It’s fantastic to hear that children are asking questions and talking about it,” he said.
“And on the other end of the spectrum, I’ve had much older, conservative people come in to give us their support too.”
A few doors down, the Bowerbird Op Shop hung a string of coloured shirts along their shop front after the post office was ordered to take their flag down.
President of the Bowerbird committee Ros Hewett said it was her staff’s way of supporting Mr Wilson and Mr Moser as integral members of the Cobargo community.
“We believe in them, if they can’t fly their colours then we will,” she said.
Ms Hewett said the town was planning to cover itself in rainbow colours over the next week as an act of defiance against the removal of the flag.
A bulk order of flags has been made, and will be sold on to shops along the main street, potentially leaving the post office as the only shop front in Cobargo not displaying a rainbow flag in the coming days.
“We’ll hang them from our shops, from our houses and our cars,” Ms Hewett said.
While she was upset Mr Wilson and Mr Mosor could not fly their flag, she understood that everyone was entitled to their opinion in the postal survey and not everyone agreed with her.
Australia Post said that as a government enterprise, it needs to ensure its post offices are not used for making statements on political issues.
Currently, the flag pole outside the Cobargo post office stands bare.
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