A stash of old Isis Shire Council ledgers and printouts, some dating back to 1900, were recently discovered by workers preparing to undertake renovations at the Childers Service Centre.
A forgotten nook in a ceiling space of the Service Centre was located by staff undertaking a pre-work check of rooms and the roof cavity.
The space, above the Council strongroom, was found to contain shelving and the storage of dozens of old Isis Shire Council records, some dating back 120 years.
Bundaberg Regional Council divisional representative, Cr Bill Trevor, said the contents of the storage area were somehow overlooked in the removal of records following amalgamation with the Bundaberg Region in 2008.
“There were dozens of hardbound copies of ledgers and volumes, mainly accounting books, dealing with rates and property valuations. Embossed with gold lettering the books make an impressive sight,” said Cr Trevor.
“The books are also impressive in size and weight with one large rates book weighing around 20 kilos.
“You can appreciate the skill of staff in those days with most of the books exhibiting the beautiful handwriting of the period and the scrupulously kept details of Council financial transactions.”
Council archivist Pat Symko said three trailer loads of material had been cleared from the storage space.
“It was a difficult task involving the erection of scaffolding to access the space and then the effort in removing books – many of which weighed between 10 and 15 kilos.
“Council has a new archive facility at Heales Road and so far I have transitioned more than 6000 boxes of Council records across,” said Pat.
“This is where this material from Childers will eventually be cleaned, evaluated and stored.”
“Historic records have been gathered from across the region and I hope to establish a historical register involving Council archive material from former local councils including Woongarra, Gooburrum, Burnett, Kolan and Isis, as well as Bundaberg.
“I recall we removed a container load of records from Kolan Shire Council. The contents of the container weighed more than five tonnes,” Pat said.
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