Francis St name in Oak Park and Hadfield force residents to create own mail system

Imagine ordering Uber Eats, only to have it delivered to an address 4km away. It’s happening all the time in these two streets and residents have taken matters into their hands.

The duplication of Francis Street in Hadfield and Oak Park has caused chaos for package deliveries. Picture: Andrew Batsch

Consistent delivery bungles to two streets with the same name and postcode in Melbourne’s northern suburbs have forced residents to create their own form of mail exchange.

Francis St in Hadfield and Oak Park are separated by about 4km but share the postcode 3046 and deliveries are regularly sent to the wrong address.

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Nick Clyne, of Francis St in Hadfield, said he recently began using meal service YouFoodz, only for it to be delivered to Oak Park four times.

Spot the difference: Francis St in Hadfield... Picture: Andrew Batsch

And Francis St in Oak Park. Picture: Andrew Batsch

And Russell Laurie, of Francis St in Oak Park, said mail and packages had been sent to the wrong suburb, while he had also answered the door for Uber Eats deliveries he didn’t order.

He said it made sense to either change one of the street names or change the postcode boundaries.

But he said the mishaps had seen him strike up a working friendship with Mr Clyne.

Francis St in Hadfield (A) and Oak Park (B). Picture: Google Maps.

“I think one of my packages got delivered (to Hadfield) and it had my phone number on it so we connected that way,” Mr Laurie said.

“There’s been a few times where I’ve sent a text because food has been dropped off or something.”

Mr Clyne said while the mishaps were only a minor inconvenience, it was still frustrating to travel to a different address to collect his mail.

Moreland contains a third Francis St, in Coburg North, but that has a different postcode.

Moreland Council finance executive manager Liz Rowland said the same street names were a by-product of the council’s amalgamation in 1994, while Australia Post decided on postcodes.

She said residents could contact the council to request a street name change, but it was a lengthy and expensive process.

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