The first permanent settlement in the Port Phillip District was achieved in 1835 when a party of settlers headed by John Batman came over from Tasmania. The earliest records concerning the handling of the mail suggest that letters were first taken care of by John Batman at his residence in 1835 and that in 1836 he was elected by the settlers to the position of postmaster. .

In September of that year Captain Lonsdale arrived from Sydney to act as Police Magistrate and thereafter mails, presumably both official and civilian, were addressed to him. Later in the year he was asked to nominate a proper person to act as postmaster. The first authorised appointee appears to have been Robert Saunders Webb, the. principal Customs Officer, who held office for a brief period (during February, 1837) and carried out the duties at his private house. .

The first regular appointment was not made till 13th April, 1837, when Mr. E. J. Foster was appointed. However, he held the office only to 15th October. He was succeeded by Mr. A. J. Byre, who occupied the position until 26th January 1838. The third appointee was Benjamin Baxter, who was postmaster from 27th January 1838, to 20th March 1839. That year ship mails were first received at Port Phillip direct from the United Kingdom, and mails were also despatched direct for the United Kingdom. The bulk of the correspondence was, however, for some time afterwards received and despatched via Sydney. .

In 1840 a post office in the charge of a storekeeper was opened at Geelong, and later that year an office was opened at Portland also. An arrangement was made at the beginning of that year for landing and shipping mails at the eastern beach of Hobson’s Bay, which service was performed without charge, in consideration of the contractor being allowed to pass with his light cart over the punt across the Yarra toll free, but towards the end of the year he was paid at the rate of £50 per annum. .

In 1841 a Government post office of wooden structure was erected on the site of the present Elizabeth Street post office. Apparently this was the first government building used for postal purposes, as there is a record of the Colonial Secretary refusing in September 1841, to sanction any remuneration to the postmaster, David Kelsh, for house and rent. .

The Melbourne office was now assuming such importance that in May 1842, the Colonial Secretary approved of a Government Gazette being issued to the postmaster. On 1st August 1842, an appointment was created giving the postmaster resident at Melbourne general superintendence over the whole department in the Port Phillip district. Henry D. Kemp, the first appointee, took up office with a staff of two. .

In 1843 post offices were opened at Kilmore, the Ovens, Mount Macedon, Alberton and Port Fairy. The following year offices were opened at Seymour and Broken River (Benalla), and two receiving boxes, one at each end of the town, were set up in Melbourne and cleared twice a day. Later in 1844 Postmaster Kemp was granted leave of absence to visit England, and Samuel Usher, a clerk in the Sydney G.P.O., was appointed to relieve him. .

That same year, 1844, the British Government sent out two senior postal officers to make a full investigation into the N.S.W. postal service, with a view to bringing it under the control of the Imperial Post Office. Nothing came of this proposal but their report, known as the 1845 Report, contains much valuable information. It was stated in the Report that the Melbourne post office was provided by the Government. It was a detached building, erected for the purpose, and no expenses were incurred except for necessary repairs, although a trifling expense was incurred that year to prevent the public from entering the sorting office. .

An interesting viewpoint concerning the separation of Port Phillip as a colony independent, of N.S.W. is mentioned in the 1845 Report. The Report questioned whether advantage could result, as it was then carried on at an expense of £900 per annum for Melbourne alone, whereas the gross revenue for the whole Port Phillip district was only £2,636.7½d. The total revenue collected at Melbourne was £1,721.4.2d. This amount comprised the inland and ship postage. By 1846 the population was about 10,000 and postal business was rapidly increasing notwithstanding heavy postage rates. It cost 1/3d. to send a letter from Sydney to Melbourne, the mail service then being weekly. .

The 1845 Report mentions that the postmaster had two rooms for his private use in the Post Office building but by 1850 apparently no further provision had been made for him although the 1st clerk, Hinton, by then had quarters in the building. On 1st July, 1851, the jurisdiction of N.S.W. ceased, due to the proclamation of Victoria as a separate colony.