Museums Victoria is on the hunt for several historic objects missing from its collection after they were swept away by floodwater from a burst water main over the weekend. Several of the artefacts have already been found lining gutters and streets near the museum's Coburg storage facility – including by one eagle-eyed ABC presenter.
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00:00Some people spend years digging for historical artefacts. For others, it just washes up at
00:07their feet.
00:08I was walking along and then I couldn't cross the street because there was this huge gush
00:11of water flowing out of a building, which is not normal. And I then noticed these little
00:18jars and relics floating down the gutter. So I just started chasing them and grabbing
00:24as many as I could because I thought they might be valuable.
00:27This fossil is just a cast of the real thing. It was one of the countless artefacts kept
00:31in the basement of a museum's Victoria Storage Facility in Cobourg where a water main burst
00:36on Saturday.
00:37The force of the water had created immediately knee-high levels inside the basement.
00:47Rocks, dirt samples and animal teeth were among the items swept away.
00:53Wonderful local people, retailers, people who are in the area like Sammy J, quickly
00:59helped gather up material and this was handed to staff who were there. Sammy J still has
01:05his bag of material, I would say, but we understand he's bringing it back.
01:09Having had this level of media interest, I've now decided to hold the relics hostage for
01:13the correct fee. No, I just haven't had a chance to get to the museum yet, but I promise
01:16I'll be handing these over very, very quickly.
01:19Museum staff have been left to clean up the water damage and figure out what else is missing.
01:24Museums Victoria is working with water authorities to locate items that may have been swept into
01:29drains. It's urging anyone who finds artefacts to drop them off here at Melbourne Museum.
01:35They're not valuable, but for Museums Victoria they do hold scientific or historical significance.
01:42The museum has said that they're not worth anything, but I mean, if I'd lost something
01:46highly valuable and I wanted someone to return, they might probably say the same thing.
01:49An archaeological find for the ages.