A Mail Run Through the Lens

Words: Amelia Norman

Images: Supplied

The road to Mesopotamia Station is a lonely one. The desolate gravel route cuts its way through ochre tussock and wide, open farmland, winding endlessly onwards towards the towering foothills of the mighty Southern Alps. Beneath the expansive, ever-changing sky, the spectacular Rangitata River makes its relentless run towards the distant coast. Often, there’s not a soul to be seen.

You will, however, spot the postie. Five days a week, Matt Searles travels this road, 50km in each direction, delivering letters and parcels to the 16 mailboxes between Peel Forest and the historic Mesopotamia Station. And every day, without fail, he brings his camera.

“I’ve always looked on a day out with my camera as a day well spent,” says Matt, who first picked up a camera as a child in the UK. It wasn’t until years later, having moved to New Zealand with his Kiwi wife Shelley, that Matt started taking photography seriously. “I started a photo-a-day challenge – taking a photo each day for a whole year – and I did this for three years. Since then, photography has been a massive part of my daily life.”

In 2018, Matt and Shelley bought The Green Man café at Peel Forest. The couple had moved to the tiny village four years earlier, from Banks Peninsula, wanting to be closer to Shelly’s family in Timaru. “When we moved, it was a question of finding somewhere that was similar in pace of life and proximity to nature as Banks Peninsula. Peel Forest fit the bill perfectly.”

Formerly the village store and post office, The Green Man came with the responsibility of the local mail run. “The mail run has been handed down to each owner of the store,” explains Matt. “So I started the run from Peel Forest to Mesopotamia Station on June 1st, 2018.”

“I’ll never forget my first day. It was a hoar frost, so everything was a magical winter wonderland.” With such a landscape literally on his doorstep, it’s no surprise that the photographer in Matt kicked into gear and started documenting the scenic journey to Mesopotamia Station, thus beginning a daily photographic record of his rural mail run, which he dubbed ‘Mail to Messy’.

Matt’s stunning, ongoing photo series features the changing seasons of this spectacular part of the world, showing the remarkable landscapes, hardy locals, rugged work dogs, farming life, and classic rural New Zealand in all its day-to-day glory.

“I liken it to a ‘spot-the-difference’ competition; each day so many things remain unchanged but each day there are subtle differences to be explored. For me, the most enjoyable days are the ones where the weather and light is changing, with storms brewing in the mountains or fog rolling in from the plains. The days when the valley is blanketed in snow are always really special.”

Whether he’s stuck behind slow-moving mobs of sheep, watching a wild stag leap across the road in front of him, or experiencing a close encounter with a falcon hunting a skylark, Matt says each day offers a new photographic opportunity.

“The play of light on the land, the cloud formations, how clear or dirty the river is running, the snow on the peaks - all of these are just some elements that are in a constant state of flux.”

Unsurprisingly, Mail to Messy has proven popular. Sales via Instagram, Matt’s website and from The Green Man café have been steady. The project has also been featured in a short film, a podcast and in international photography publications.

“Seeing these images allows people to reconnect with the rural nature of our country,” says Matt. “Like so many photographs, there is a sense of nostalgia in them that appeals to people. I think the idea of this mail man in the middle of rural New Zealand taking all these images really appeals too.”

This summer, Matt will be out there, capturing the long, dry days, the sun-goldened paddocks and the cloudless blue skies whilst also running The Green Man with Shelley, catering events, visiting family and capturing the occasional wedding or commercial shoot. It’s a busy life, but at the end of the day, it all comes back to his camera.

“Being behind the camera gives me a sense of calm. In a world where so much happens that you can’t control, that’s a very comforting thing.”