The weirdest op shop donations in Nelson
David Halifax from the Nelson ReUse Store with a selection of some of their most recent unusual and rare donations. Photo: Kate Russell.
Love letters, prosthetic limbs, a 221-year-old book and 1985 Goonies cards - these are just some of the most unusual and rare donations Nelson op shops say they have received.
Area president of St Vincent de Paul Nelson Tasman, Elizabeth Owens, says between their three shops in Nelson, Stoke and Richmond they see their fair share of “weird” donations.
“A decorated ostrich egg on a stand, love letters with a wedding dress from the 1970s, a half-eaten jar of marmalade, a beekeeper’s suit, a prosthetic limb, and 1946 English Women's Weekly and Stitchcraft magazines have been among them.”
A school medal was also donated but they returned it to the North Island high school where it came from.
“We also found $350 cash in a jacket pocket - we gave it to the police, but it was unclaimed, so we got it back,” says Elizabeth.
Anton Drazevic, CEO of the Nelson Environment Centre, says they see plenty of bizarre donations at their ReUse Shop on Vivian Place.
A 19th-century harrow, Goonies cards from 1985, ‘creepy’ clowns, old cameras and coins, and even a Harley Davidson phone have all made their way into the centre.
“Old books are always on offer, some signed by notables. Recently we were entrusted with a first edition book by Sir Edmund Hillary, ‘View from the Summit’,” he says.
Also salvaged was an 1802 edition of ‘Dictionary of Natural History’ - this was published 57 years before Charles Darwin’s revolutionary work.
Anton also says that trench art by New Zealand soldiers from the 20th-century commitment to conflicts overseas regularly comes into the centre and becomes part of a tribute auction they run near to ANZAC Day.
“One notable piece made from a shell casing became a pint tankard and was embossed with all Kiwi engagements commencing with Greece.”
He says another unusual donation was a genuine and well-used ‘mid-century’ corrugated iron field ‘outhouse’ with a sitting board and nailed-up 1970s newspaper. It was sold and loaded onto a trailer ‘as is’.
Juliet Randle, the incoming goods coordinator at Nelson ReStore, says they receive “thousands” of items weekly - including the “weird and wonderful”.
“We’ve had an Admiral Fitzroy barometer, a hip replacement ball joint socket, a mussel float trolley, and even an extra hand should you need it.”
But she says some donations are downright disgusting and reminds people that they are not a “rubbish dump”.
“Probably the most disgusting, apart from bed linen or g-strings, would be dirty hairbrushes, potties, and toilet brushes,” she says.
“And no, we do not clean them and on-sell.”