The smiles start before customers even reach the counter.

Some walk into Penguin Post Office to join in the fun after spotting staff dropping for push-ups between serving customers.

Others arrive with tears in their eyes, looking less for stamps and parcels and more for someone to talk to.

In the tiny north-west Tasmanian town of about 3000, the local post office has become much more than a place to collect the mail.

“We specifically have a number of customers that come in from our rural areas,” staff member Scott Arthur said.

“We’re the only people they quite often get a chance to talk to.

“You can see they’ve got a few tears, you can take them out the back or to the side and just have a talk and try to help them relieve a bit of that stress and hopefully even put a smile on their face.”

Arthur, a career postal worker who previously ran his own post office at Hadspen near Launceston and now commutes from elsewhere in the region, said that kind of connection was essential in country towns.

“When you’re actually in a rural community, you need to allow the customers to bring that forward and try to get involved in terms of helping them with issues they have,” he said.

“You can’t be sterile, you have to be more colourful and flexible with a small community.”

Those interactions are among the reasons Arthur and Penguin Post Office owner Caroline Kane have turned the annual national Push-Up Challenge into a local event.

With the challenge in its second year for the town, the duo have encouraged neighbouring businesses and customers to join them in completing 3307 push-ups over 24 days.

Their efforts and those of more than 230,000 other participants across the nation are to honour the Australians lost to suicide in 2024 and raise awareness around mental health.

Since 2017, the program has raised more than $70 million and become a fixture in every state and territory, from the outback to the high country.

“The more we talk, learn and show-up for each other, the more we break down the stigma of mental health, so Australians feel supported, understood and confident to reach out,” Push for Better Foundation CEO Nicole Cikarela said.

“We’re starting to make it a community event this year,” Kane said.

“All this publicity has been lovely actually, because it’s getting real traction in the community.”

The challenge, which began a decade ago and is Australia’s largest mental health and fitness event, raises money for Lifeline, headspace and Push for Better.

Kane made a sea change from Sydney when she bought the licensed post office in Penguin almost two years ago, bringing with her years of experience in big-company human resources.

“In a small town, we have a large elderly demographic and a lot of vulnerable customers,” she said.

“Scott himself definitely sees it as part of his remit to bring humour every day, which makes such a positive impact to the community.”

Initially settled as a mid-19th century timber port, Penguin takes its name from the rookeries of little penguins dotted along the nearby coastline.

Its post office actually predates the township. It opened its doors as Sulphur Creek Post Office in January 1867 and became Penguin Creek Post Office the following year and finally, Penguin Post Office in 1895.

Kane and Scott say many of their regulars walk in grinning after seeing them tackling the daily challenge. Others have joined in themselves, including customers who have individually taken part in the event over several years.

They have even recruited an old 1980s aerobics step to provide alternatives to push-ups.

“We’re doing a lot of squats,” Kane said.

Often on hand to cast what some may suspect is an officious eye over proceedings is her 11-year-old Maltese-shitzu-silky terrier cross, Denzel.

While Arthur said large organisations could sometimes steer staff away from becoming too involved in customers’ lives, Australia Post actively encouraged connection and supports mental health initiatives, including an annual partnership with Beyond Blue.

He and Kane are also champions of something increasingly rare in the digital age: Old-fashioned mail.

“We point out, especially to grandparents, that kids love the idea of getting something in the mail, even if it’s just a postcard,” Arthur said.

“You don’t see that anymore, so that’s really special for a young one.”

For Kane, the Push-Up Challenge succeeds because it feels real.

“Over a long time in corporate HR I’ve [been involved in]a lot of … the morning tea charity, very performative things, whereas this makes a real difference, it really does,” she said.

Lifeline 131 114

beyondblue 1300 224 636

-AAP