Orange Lions Club’s time capsule contents revealed

The old rescue helicopter hangar in Redman Place was abuzz on Saturday morning as messages and keepsakes interned in the Orange Lions Club’s time capsule saw the light of day for the first time in 50 years.

In 1973, the Lions fundraiser invited locals to send a message or items of interest into the future by purchasing an envelope to be sealed in the time capsule and only revealed on June 29, 2023.

The unearthing of the capsule last Thursday morning attracted a good-sized crowd to Robertson Park. There was a feeling of eager anticipation in the air as the backhoe went to work, the crowd keen to know whether the contents of the capsule had survived the five decades.

Watching on was former Orange Lions Club president Geo Newham, who’d personally buried the capsule on a cold wet morning 50 years ago to the day.

The backhoe made easy work removing the concrete slab poured over the site and bringing the concrete pipe housing the capsule to the surface. Breaking into the bricked-up concrete pipe took a little more e ort from the Orange City Council sta and Lions volunteers but the sealed copper capsule was eventually revealed intact.

“It was a bit of nostalgia you might say and a bit of apprehension as to how it’s going to come out!” Geo said, following the capsule’s unearthing.

When burying the capsule in June 1973, Geo said they had done what they could to ensure the contents would survive, but he was still relieved to see the capsule was still intact.

“My expectations were it could go either way! But there was no kind of moisture that came out of the container when it was being moved around and I thought, that’s a good sign!” Geo said, relieved.

“I was surprised at how solid the unit was. It didn’t just fall to pieces, they had to work at it. We must have done a good job when we put it in the ground.”

The capsule (a copper-alloy tube from a water heater) was then taken to the hangar in Redman Place to acclimatise before it was cut open and more than 250 envelopes were then sorted and organised for collection on Saturday.

The majority of the envelopes were addressed to family members, while others to community groups such as the Orange and District Historical Society and one even to the current Mayor of Orange.

“We are thrilled, it couldn’t have gone better!” Current Orange Lions Club President, Debbie Butwell said from the hangar on Saturday morning.

“The contents of the capsule were perfect and the atmosphere today is delightful!”

Arriving soon after the advertised collection time of 10am, Orange City Life observed a steady stream of people coming and going from the hangar. Some collected their envelopes and left carrying them unopened, while most pulled up a chair by the gas heaters and took their time reading letters from relatives and reliving old memories.

“There are just a lot of people sitting and sharing stories and it’s beautiful, it really is!” Debbie said.

Although for some, seeing letters written by loved ones now passed on was an emotional experience.

“We had one lady who was very emotional because her dad had written on the envelope and she was taking it to the cemetery to open it,” she said.

Orange Lions Club will now keep unclaimed envelopes for 60 days, Debbie said, after which time they will be passed to Orange City Library for digitisation and preservation.

If you think you are the rightful owner of one of the remaining letters from the time capsule you can email olc.timecapsule@gmail.com