Countdown to Lions Club time capsule unearthing — just two weeks to go!

“It was a pretty miserable day the day we buried it!” recalls Geoff Newham of the June morning almost 50 years ago, when he and a fellow Orange Lions Club member rather unceremoniously buried their time capsule in Robertson Park.

A fundraising project for the local Lions Club in 1973, people had been invited to send a message or items of interest into the future by purchasing an envelope, which would be buried sealed in the time capsule and only revealed in half a century’s time on June 29, 2023.

The unearthing of the capsule and its contents is now just days away and Geoff Newham will be one of those watching with anticipation in Robertson Park Thursday, June 29.

“Ted Evans was the President and I was the incoming president, I think,” says Geoff, thinking back to that year.

“I didn't think I would be around to see it opened and I think that was the general consensus... Who can say where you're going to be in 50 years?”

Very much involved in the project, Geoff has a particular interest in seeing if their handiwork has survived the past five decades.

“It was not the type of thing that we had any experience doing. We just went ahead and worked out this is what we'll do and hope it works!” says Geoff, who is still fairly confident that the time capsule will be in ‘good nick’ when it’s dug up next week.

While the photo opposite shows a rocket-shaped time capsule, Geoff says that was just knocked up to create a bit of publicity for their project. The actual time capsule was inside the model rocket, which is not what will be unearthed later this month.

Made from a copper-alloy tube from a water heater (two to three feet long and half that wide according to Geoff) the capsule was brazed shut and then placed in a concrete pipe and sealed.

“I don't know whether the concrete might have leached a little bit of stuff in there, but there shouldn't have been hardly any water at all because we did brick the ends of the pipe in,” says Geoff.

“We didn't bury it too deep and it wouldn't be sitting in a water table… So I'm pretty confident it'll come in okay.”
Orange City Council will be assisting the Lions Club with the unearthing, which is fine by Geoff, who had to dig the hole by hand in less than ideal conditions.

“So the day we actually buried it, we were going to have a bit of a function there, we’d invited the Mayor and a couple others to come down, but lo and behold it was freezing cold and it was pouring rain!” he recalls.

So, Geoff and a fellow club member braved the conditions, dug the hole, and buried the capsule with little fanfare

“We said we can't hang around in this rain and I don't think anybody's going to turn up anyhow. So it was rolled off my ute, we just covered it over and went on our way again… Hopefully, it won't be the same when they’re digging it up!”

The unearthing of the time capsule is planned to take place at 10.30am on Thursday, June 29 in Robertson Park.

Collection Day for time capsule contents

Envelopes will be available for collection at the Helicopter Hangar, 1 Redmond Place Orange, from 10am to 3pm on July 1.

Envelopes will only be handed to the owner, or next of kin should the owner be deceased and to ensure they get to the correct person, proof of relationship will be required.

“Not everyone will still have their receipt (card) as proof of ownership, so arrangements are being made to get the envelope to the next of kin, as long as they have proof of the relationship,” says President of Orange Lions Club, Debbie Butwell

Orange Lions Club will retain unclaimed envelopes for sixty days (60 days), after which time they will be passed to the Orange City Library for digitisation and preservation.

Members of the Orange Lions Club are asking that cardholders make contact with the Club by emailing the club at olc.timecapsule@gmail.com stating name on card; card number; claimants name, claimants email and phone number.