By Oliver Lees
Andrew Mcleay is searching for answers after unearthing some historic items near his home in Maddingley.
Earlier this month, Andrew was out walking his dog when he saw what he thought was a 20 cent piece on the ground.
“I was walking along and I kicked it. I was going to leave it there, but for whatever reason I decided to pick it up,” he said.
“It was really badly weathered and I didn’t have my glasses with me, so I couldn’t see it clearly.”
Once home Andrew took a photo of the circular item to share online.
It wasn’t until he zoomed in on the image that he realised it wasn’t an Australian coin at all, but rather an English penny, dated 1867.
Andrew’s unique find was followed by another productive outing two weeks later, where again, walking his dog, he saw something poking out of that dirt that seemed out of place.
“I saw this round white thing, and I thought, what is that? I dug around with my hand, and found these white ceramic bottles and brown bottles all in a row,” he said.
The only bottle that had any discernible lettering was half-broken, with the words Lea & Perrins scrawled across it, a brand from the United Kingdom that produces Worcester sauce.
Andrew believes the items might have been left behind during the construction of the railway, as the Ballarat line was extended from Bacchus Marsh and beyond in the latter part of the 19th century.
In total, the items might be worth no more than $50. For Andrew, the real value has discovering a piece of history in a patch of dirt.
“I just find it interesting,” he said.
“Who was the last person who carried it around? Probably someone who died over a hundred years ago.”
