According to ‘reliable’ oral tradition, told to me by a man outside Hoyts, 150 years ago farmer Joe Weirdo Blow tied his horses to the wooden fence post on his farm called Loopy Lane. He called the wooden fence post Penny Post and hugged her daily. Penny was brave and guarded the horses in her paddock. People used to pat Penny Post on the head as they walked towards the markets in the main street of Maitland West. Children used to dress her up for April Fool’s Day and Halloween. The Cheeky Checkers Club and the Cockroach Racing Club decorated her with their club colours at every championship meeting. The local community loved Penny Post. Children drew pictures of her and parents posted them up on their ice chests. She was once painted bright pink. Graffiti featuring Penny Post was rife in the area. She was easy to draw. Some vandals turned her into a voodoo doll by driving nails into her wood. Her nail holes were fixed with sawdust and hide glue. Penny Post has seen lots of things in her time. Much cannot be repeated in polite company. She has bravely guarded her paddock for 150 years. Although the iron wires that went through her are now rusted away, Penny Post stands today as a symbol of bravery and a famous popular icon of Maitland.
*Excerpt from Mark Tindall's book Maitland's Racist Garden Gnome. (Available on Amazon) The largest and most detailed book every written on on the object.
