A Ballarat woman is on the hunt for the owner of albums filled with historic photographs and postcards after rescuing them from a bushland rubbish dump.
Key points:
- Six historic albums containing photographs and postcards were found in an unofficial bushland rubbish dump
- The woman who found the items is hoping to reunite the items with their owner
- Some items in the books are dated 1906 and 1915
Leanne Middleton was walking her dogs in Creswick Regional Park two weeks ago when she came across an unofficial household rubbish dump.
While looking for any identifying information to make a report something unexpected caught her eye — six damp, old-looking photo albums.
"I thought they were beautiful and very very old," she said.
"I knew the rain was coming so I didn't want to leave them there if they weren't rubbish."
Ms Middleton found some canvas grocery bags amongst the dump and used them to carry the books the remaining two kilometres of the walk to her car.
Once home and looking through the pages she realised she had stumbled across a treasure trove from a time past.
One of her favourite discoveries was a black and white portrait photograph of a man taken at a studio in Ballarat.
Writing on the photographs revealed some of the others were taken in Geelong and Bairnsdale.
It was unclear exactly when the photos were taken, but other items in the albums, including a Victoria and Tasmania Methodist Conference ticket, indicate they could date back to around 1915.
Photographers Wilmot and Key in Geelong, C.R Baker Photographer, and Thos. D Ferris Photographer were listed on the bottom of some of the pictures.
Newspaper clippings detailing soldiers from Colac who had died at war and a few handwritten notes in highly cursive writing, dated 1915, are part of the collection.
An album of old postcards appears to have been gifted to a person named Bessie according to a handwritten note inside its cover dated 1906.
Ms Middleton posted about her find on four Ballarat community Facebook pages as the first step of her quest to find their owner.
The posts have attracted community attention and have been shared dozens of times.
"There have been lots of beautiful comments, people saying 'I hope you find their original owner' and 'thanks for saving them'," Ms Middleton said.
"I think a lot of people in Ballarat have realised they are quite precious photos."
Ms Middleton said she would contact a museum if her quest to find the owner was unsuccessful.
"I hope the owner is found and that these are something special for the owner," she said.
"But on the other hand if they have been dumped, as things often are in the forest, I hope they will go to someone who will appreciate them."