A Gladstone historian has tracked down a postcard that was sent from the small rural town more than a century ago and had found its way across the globe to Canada.
Steve Schulz said he was only a relatively new resident to Gladstone in South Australia's Mid North, but was eager to learn more about the town's past.
"When myself and my wife moved up here I started to research the history of my own home," Mr Schulz said.
Mr Schulz said it made him realise how easy it was to research history online.
"What I discovered through my travels on the internet is that there’s quite a lot of historical artefacts available for sale on places like eBay and other sale platforms," he said.
"Basically that’s how I came across these little things, just put in the town’s name and with a bit of perseverance, these little treasures come up."
Those little treasures Mr Schulz discovered on eBay were one-penny postcards, marked and sent from the Gladstone Post Office, in 1891 and 1893.
Both cards were addressed to stationery company Sands & McDougall in Adelaide.
The company published directories which could be delivered via postcard request.
Mr Schulz said he was surprised to learn the 1891 card he purchased had found its way to Canada.
"To get this little baby all the way from Canada, it cost me the sum of $11," he said.
He suspected the postcard ended up in the hands of a stamp or postcard collector.
"It’s very interesting that these little trinkets make their way where they do around the world," he said.
"I’m not sure how he came across it but I was quite happy to take it off his hands."
A 'beautiful little snapshot'
Mr Schulz said he had thoroughly researched the history behind the local senders of the cards.
He said the small artefacts were just the beginning of a larger collection of historical Gladstone artefacts he had been collecting.
"The beauty for me with this is that they’re handwritten, they’re signed, they’re dated," he said.
"So, they’re a beautiful little snapshot of a moment in time 130 years ago."
Mr Schulz said the local history group of which he was a mamber was pushing to establish a standalone museum for the community.
"We do have a little centre, the Southern Flinders Discovery Centre, which I guess doubles as an historical display for the town but also an information centre," Mr Schulz said.
"But what we’re trying to do is set up something a little bit more serious."
Mr Schulz said many members of the community had been donating artefacts to the group.
"Anything with the name Gladstone or any sort of history relating to Gladstone I’m jumping on — all sorts of things," he said.
"Some people are donating stuff for historical recording but a lot of stuff people are putting up on sale platforms and you need to pay for them ... thankfully, though, they’re not always expensive."
He said he had been gathering trinkets for a new wave of collectors to discover in another 100 years.
"History is not just about what happened 130 years ago, it’s about recording and keeping little trinkets and examples of the way we live," he said.
"So people in another 130 years have got this same sort of joy that people like me are getting today from finding these little treasures."
