Postie delivering more than mail in remote Tasmanian highlands Photo: Steven Kurtz says he likes living at Miena because "nothing happens" there. (ABC News: Scott Ross) It is only about 130 kilometres from Hobart, but in many ways Miena is another world. Key points:Rural Alive and Well says it is easy for people living in Tasmania's isolated central highlands to lose touchServices like mail delivery become vital in keeping a check on peopleAt Miena, the local pub also plays a role in looking out for residents Only about 80 people call the small town of fishing shacks home. Steven Kurtz, 61, is among them, having lived in his shack for about 27 years. "It's the only place I'd like to live. I can't live down the coast — it's just too stupid down there, there's too many people," he said. "You get used to it after a while, I do get lonely every now and again but it's nothing severe, nothing I've got to call some phone number for and get some help or anything like that. It's alright. The Great Lake Hotel is the gathering point and visits there are often the only time the locals see another living soul. Photo: If she hasn't heard from residents in a while, publican Kaylee Hattinger says she'll visit to check on them. (ABC News: Edith Bevin) Kaylee Hattinger has been running the pub for the past 15 years. "Even though there's not that many permanent residents up here, we do care about each other and we do interact on a really regular basis," Ms Hattinger said. "I feel very much like their mother … I tend to bully them a little bit and if I don't see them for a few days … I will go around or send someone around to make sure that they're not dead. "It's not the first time I've had to go around and find someone dead because we haven't seen them for a couple of days, or we get our local policeman to do a welfare check on them, because some people ... we are all they have." Rural Alive and Well Tasmania's Liz Little said it was easy in places like Miena for people to lose touch with the outside world and effectively become hermits. "Isolation isn't always a geographical thing … it's also a state of mind," Ms Little said. Photo: About 80 people call the Miena area home. (ABC News: Jess Davis) She said services that city slickers took for granted, such as the postman visiting, were vitally important to the mental health of those in places like Miena. "People like the postie or the person that delivers your paper are enormously important. Human beings are social creatures — we need to see each other and if people are in fact withdrawing and being isolated they are doing that for a reason," she said. "They're doing that because something is wrong physically and they can't cope with the world, or something is wrong mentally and they are not engaging. Photo: Mark Kirkland says delivering the mail is more than just dropping off the post. (ABC News: Edith Bevin) Bothwell postmaster Mark Kirkland has been delivering the mail to the
Postie and publican keep watch over isolated Tasmanian communities
Postie delivering more than mail in remote Tasmanian highlands Photo: Steven Kurtz says he likes living at Miena because "nothing happens" there. (ABC News: Scott Ross) It is only about 130 kilometres from Hobart, but in many ways Miena is another world. Key points:Rural Alive and Well says it is easy for people living in Tasmania's isolated central highlands to lose touchServices like mail delivery become vital in keeping a check on peopleAt Miena, the local pub also plays a role in looking out for residents Only about 80 people call the small town of fishing shacks home. Steven Kurtz, 61, is among them, having lived in his shack for about 27 years. "It's the only place I'd like to live. I can't live down the coast — it's just too stupid down there, there's too many people," he said. "You get used to it after a while, I do get lonely every now and again but it's nothing severe, nothing I've got to call some phone number for and get some help or anything like that. It's alright. The Great Lake Hotel is the gathering point and visits there are often the only time the locals see another living soul. Photo: If she hasn't heard from residents in a while, publican Kaylee Hattinger says she'll visit to check on them. (ABC News: Edith Bevin) Kaylee Hattinger has been running the pub for the past 15 years. "Even though there's not that many permanent residents up here, we do care about each other and we do interact on a really regular basis," Ms Hattinger said. "I feel very much like their mother … I tend to bully them a little bit and if I don't see them for a few days … I will go around or send someone around to make sure that they're not dead. "It's not the first time I've had to go around and find someone dead because we haven't seen them for a couple of days, or we get our local policeman to do a welfare check on them, because some people ... we are all they have." Rural Alive and Well Tasmania's Liz Little said it was easy in places like Miena for people to lose touch with the outside world and effectively become hermits. "Isolation isn't always a geographical thing … it's also a state of mind," Ms Little said. Photo: About 80 people call the Miena area home. (ABC News: Jess Davis) She said services that city slickers took for granted, such as the postman visiting, were vitally important to the mental health of those in places like Miena. "People like the postie or the person that delivers your paper are enormously important. Human beings are social creatures — we need to see each other and if people are in fact withdrawing and being isolated they are doing that for a reason," she said. "They're doing that because something is wrong physically and they can't cope with the world, or something is wrong mentally and they are not engaging. Photo: Mark Kirkland says delivering the mail is more than just dropping off the post. (ABC News: Edith Bevin) Bothwell postmaster Mark Kirkland has been delivering the mail to the
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