Australia is not Austria

An Australian man waited two months for a package sent in the post from America to Australia after it was sent to the wrong country — not once, but five times. Instead of Australia, the parcel went to Austria.

The Australia tourism slogan is “There’s nothing like Australia” and the Austrian slogan is “Arrive and revive.” The parcel arrived and revived in Austria five times.

The man's brother uploaded a photo of the package to Reddit with the postage marks indicating the circuitous route of its journey. The photo shows five stamps on the package that read: “Missent to Austria.”

The parcel was clearly addressed to an Australian location. It seems even the the postal workers in Austria were getting frustrated with the parcel continually being posted to the wrong country. Scrawled next to the fifth “Missent to Austria” stamp was the word "AGAIN" underlined in capital letters.

International postal errors aren't uncommon, with the problem not unique to Australia and Austria. “In South Australia we have a stamp for stuff meant for South Africa,” one Reddit user wrote. "I had a package meant for France sent to Montana twice," another wrote. “I live in Austria and my family add ‘EUROPE’ to my address,” one Reddit user wrote. A postal worker in Australia said Australia and Austria both have four numbers in their postcodes which often adds to the confusion.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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