A reserve collection of Gippsland books will be on offer through a silent auction to be held in Traralgon this Sunday.
The unique collection spans over a century of Gippsland writing. From Alfred Howitt to Alan Harding, it uncovers the heritage of our region in rare and highly sought after titles ranging from an 1880 first edition Fison, Lorimer and Howitt's Kamilaroi and Kurnai to Phillip Peppers' 1980 story of his family You are What You Make Yourself to Be, along with The Story of Metung by Gay Halstead and Lover's Walk: Inverloch, A Patchwork of Historical Stories by E.P. Brewster (ed Joan Crawford).
Hosted by Bookcases @ Court, the collection will be available for sale through silent auction with all funds raised going to Friends of the Traralgon Courthouse to support the ongoing preservation and sharing of community heritage.
Retired second hand bookseller Wayne Hardie from Warragul, has compiled the catalogue and has been working for several months with renowned Gippsland historian, Linda Barraclough to sort and disperse a private collection made available for distribution through Bookcases@Court. The reserve collection of highly sought publications emerged through this process.
Bookcases@Court is operated by Friends of Traralgon Courthouse Inc., volunteers who have worked to facilitate restoration of the Traralgon Courthouse and open it to the community.
The catalogue can be found on the Gippsland Local History Book Facebook page, or obtained from the Traralgon Courthouse in person or by request via email secretaryfotch@gmail.com
The auction will begin at 1pm on Sunday at Traralgon Courthouse in Franklin St.