The old Richmond Post Office

Prior to the official appointment of Isaac Nichols as postmaster in 1810 the settlers in the colony made their own arrangements regarding the circulation of mail. An official post office was established in Windsor in 1828 and mails were delivered three times per week from Windsor to Richmond. 

RICHMOND. The Australian  newspaper  13 January 1844, p. 3.

A Post Office was officially established in Richmond on the 1 January 1844 and the first postmaster appointed was William Edward Brew.    

The old Richmond Post Office when it was single storey (right) adjacent to the Court House and old Police Station, 1879
Courtesy State Library of NSW

In 1875 a single storey post office building was erected in Windsor Street, a little known fact. A second storey was added to the building in 1888 and in 1906 the walkways were filled in. The first Telegraph Office opened in Richmond in 1867, nine years after the first line opened in Sydney.   

The building adjacent is the Court House and Police Station, located on the corner of Windsor and West Market Streets, and was built in 1877. There had been an earlier building on this site, called the Watch House, built in the 1820s.

ROBBERY FROM A POST-OFFICE. (1895, December 17). The Sydney Morning Herald 17 December 1895, p. 5. 

In 1895 burglars broke into the Post Office through a side window. They opened the safe and stole a cashbox which contained £120 worth of notes, gold and silver. Rather daring considering the Post Office was next door to the Police Station. 

Sources:

Postal history of NSW 1788-1901 p.21 

Richmond Post Office, notes from Australia Post Archives

RICHMOND. (1844, January 13). The Australian (Sydney, NSW : 1824 - 1848), , p. 3. Retrieved April 3, 2016, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37126560

ROBBERY FROM A POST-OFFICE. (1895, December 17). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), , p. 5. Retrieved April 3, 2016, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14029427