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"I found this photo down the Cobden dump 40 years ago - who is she?'
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DescriptionSteve Newby.."I found this photo down the Cobden dump 40 years ago its in a neat old vintage frame.Can you put it on WCH to see if anyone recognized her, There used to be hundreds of old family photos at the Cobden dump, even old wedding photos in Oak frames.How could people throw such things away !! This photo was in the mud so I saved it.
I used to see whole house load of stuff dumped after the old people died. The familes would come and sell the house and then dump everything else even all the old photos .There used to be heaps of old jars full of old buttons some where mother of pearl and jars full of brass screws and bolts, and heaps of vintage clothes and shoes"Map[1] ContributorSteve Newby.
I used to see whole house load of stuff dumped after the old people died. The familes would come and sell the house and then dump everything else even all the old photos .There used to be heaps of old jars full of old buttons some where mother of pearl and jars full of brass screws and bolts, and heaps of vintage clothes and shoes"Map[1] ContributorSteve Newby.
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Location (city or town)Cobden Organisation (eg business)Cobden dumpEvent."I found this photo down the Cobden dump 40 years ago.'
From Facebook
Date Created25th July 2023CommentsSteph JF
I found by chance momento's of Selina McEnaneys life just dumped there by her son in the early 80's. I still have them.x
Leonie Roberts
Steph JF wow that's amazing. Selina was my auntie (my dads sister) Amazing what you learn on this site
Steph JF
Leonie Roberts yes i remember meeting you when i lived in Threadneedle St. You are as lovely as your Aunty who i loved dearly. I can still hear her laugh
Steph JF
Leonie Roberts i have post cards from your Uncle Rory while away at war. Will dig them out at some stage & post pics
Leonie Roberts
Steph JF that would be fantastic to see
Joan Adams
Steph JF Selina was my auntie through her husband Martin who was my grandmother’s brother’s.
Lois Iacoppi
Our precious memories mean not a lot to others
Anna Wright
Lois Iacoppi yep- but they like the $$$$
Alva Mundy
So sad to throw away precious memory’s not good
Susan Hutchings
Sacrilege
Dorothy Wills
Yes it is a shame that alot of family throw away photos and memories of their deceased relatives, especially when later a much younger member of that family may want to have kept them
Anne Milligan
Sad to read family history being dumped.
Reply15h
Lorraine Brian
So sad
Anna Wright
Pretty sad.
Beautiful photo.
Candice Williamson
Sad
Chrissy Thompson
Hope someone recognizes this pic and comes forward to claim it. I agree.. don't know how people can dump their history
Valda May Pattinson
What a really lovely photo. So very sad to read what family would dump. A crime really.
Rosemary Matthews
beautiful
Mary Prendergast
Good on you Steve.
Lorraine O'Donoghue
I have quietly started passing certain things onto family members that I know will appreciate them. What happens with the next generation is out of my control.
Tessa Daisy
So so sad losing old pics to the dump. Great rescue Steve
Jason WA
My wifes ex did the same.
Christine Banks
Who wouldn’t want this photo of their late grandma / great grandma. She is beautiful and looks to be around 20s and the clothing seems to indicate 1929s 1930s?
Colman Creagh
Great yo see some of us have there heart in the right place. History should always be saved
Diane Lovegrove
Pretty lady
Tex Everett
My sisters dumped a box of family photos when my Mum died leaving me with almost no family photos.
Tony Bartley
Tex Everett
Tony Bartley
In 1976 in the Living Rm of the first house I purchased the estate benefactors had stripped out two Wedding photographs of their frames and dumped these onto the floor. They were William and Mary Dutch. They were a childless couple, so I adopted them. When my daughter married in May 2006 my PowerPoint included them in the pantheon of previous family marriages. I guess we can do things like that!
Trish McTaggart
I boarded with Selina when I worked for PZ Harris the Dentist and then Ian Hamilton dentist.She was the most beautiful lady and looked after me so well.That’s sad to hear that.
Steph JF
Trish McTaggart Selina was is a beautiful woman. Her sense of humour but also her staunchness combined made her a woman of opinion well beyond her times
Rob Lunn
The modern generation are very easy come and go they just don’t seem to have the ties to their heritage that us baby boomers may have had sad really I feel as so much material is lost mind you we don’t have a local museum (Greymouth)so there’s probably not much incentive for folk to hand it in
Sue Seymour
My mother in law threw a whole chest of family photos out when she was starting to develop dementia. We didn’t realise for months afterwards. We were gutted, my husband had no baby or childhood pics left. Thankful that friends gave us some copies of their ones, something to have at least.
Rebekah Fairhurst Geer
Nice save mr newby, nice save x
Deb Momo
Margaret Chamberlain
Lyn Tyson
Love this photo. So sad to see family history thrown out.
Brian Collins
Fires were always burning down at that dump, even on Preston Rd you would get smoked out
Jude Wastney
Breaks my heart to think they don't want to hold on to their family's history and then we have some asking for photos of their family as they have no idea of what they looked like. Maybe the advice that is given is they are probably at the Cobden dump
Stephen Bell
Personal history is just that. Personal. The young one are too busy creating their own. As they should be. You leave with nothing.
Liz Moffatt
As a vintage hoarder, this post hurts.
Marj Latta
That's terrible, couldn't do that to family photos, no matter how old. That's your family history.
Maree Nolan
Such a shame she is beautiful ..
Julie Clark
Thats so sad.
When I was a kid my mum had 3 elderly spinster aunties that lived together.
I remember hearing that after the last one passed, their brother, (who had been a minister, which for some reason to me makes it even worse) sold off all their possessions in a garage sale, and apparently someone bought their old family photos to use as scrap paper
I found by chance momento's of Selina McEnaneys life just dumped there by her son in the early 80's. I still have them.x
Leonie Roberts
Steph JF wow that's amazing. Selina was my auntie (my dads sister) Amazing what you learn on this site
Steph JF
Leonie Roberts yes i remember meeting you when i lived in Threadneedle St. You are as lovely as your Aunty who i loved dearly. I can still hear her laugh
Steph JF
Leonie Roberts i have post cards from your Uncle Rory while away at war. Will dig them out at some stage & post pics
Leonie Roberts
Steph JF that would be fantastic to see
Joan Adams
Steph JF Selina was my auntie through her husband Martin who was my grandmother’s brother’s.
Lois Iacoppi
Our precious memories mean not a lot to others
Anna Wright
Lois Iacoppi yep- but they like the $$$$
Alva Mundy
So sad to throw away precious memory’s not good
Susan Hutchings
Sacrilege
Dorothy Wills
Yes it is a shame that alot of family throw away photos and memories of their deceased relatives, especially when later a much younger member of that family may want to have kept them
Anne Milligan
Sad to read family history being dumped.
Reply15h
Lorraine Brian
So sad
Anna Wright
Pretty sad.
Beautiful photo.
Candice Williamson
Sad
Chrissy Thompson
Hope someone recognizes this pic and comes forward to claim it. I agree.. don't know how people can dump their history
Valda May Pattinson
What a really lovely photo. So very sad to read what family would dump. A crime really.
Rosemary Matthews
beautiful
Mary Prendergast
Good on you Steve.
Lorraine O'Donoghue
I have quietly started passing certain things onto family members that I know will appreciate them. What happens with the next generation is out of my control.
Tessa Daisy
So so sad losing old pics to the dump. Great rescue Steve
Jason WA
My wifes ex did the same.
Christine Banks
Who wouldn’t want this photo of their late grandma / great grandma. She is beautiful and looks to be around 20s and the clothing seems to indicate 1929s 1930s?
Colman Creagh
Great yo see some of us have there heart in the right place. History should always be saved
Diane Lovegrove
Pretty lady
Tex Everett
My sisters dumped a box of family photos when my Mum died leaving me with almost no family photos.
Tony Bartley
Tex Everett
Tony Bartley
In 1976 in the Living Rm of the first house I purchased the estate benefactors had stripped out two Wedding photographs of their frames and dumped these onto the floor. They were William and Mary Dutch. They were a childless couple, so I adopted them. When my daughter married in May 2006 my PowerPoint included them in the pantheon of previous family marriages. I guess we can do things like that!
Trish McTaggart
I boarded with Selina when I worked for PZ Harris the Dentist and then Ian Hamilton dentist.She was the most beautiful lady and looked after me so well.That’s sad to hear that.
Steph JF
Trish McTaggart Selina was is a beautiful woman. Her sense of humour but also her staunchness combined made her a woman of opinion well beyond her times
Rob Lunn
The modern generation are very easy come and go they just don’t seem to have the ties to their heritage that us baby boomers may have had sad really I feel as so much material is lost mind you we don’t have a local museum (Greymouth)so there’s probably not much incentive for folk to hand it in
Sue Seymour
My mother in law threw a whole chest of family photos out when she was starting to develop dementia. We didn’t realise for months afterwards. We were gutted, my husband had no baby or childhood pics left. Thankful that friends gave us some copies of their ones, something to have at least.
Rebekah Fairhurst Geer
Nice save mr newby, nice save x
Deb Momo
Margaret Chamberlain
Lyn Tyson
Love this photo. So sad to see family history thrown out.
Brian Collins
Fires were always burning down at that dump, even on Preston Rd you would get smoked out
Jude Wastney
Breaks my heart to think they don't want to hold on to their family's history and then we have some asking for photos of their family as they have no idea of what they looked like. Maybe the advice that is given is they are probably at the Cobden dump
Stephen Bell
Personal history is just that. Personal. The young one are too busy creating their own. As they should be. You leave with nothing.
Liz Moffatt
As a vintage hoarder, this post hurts.
Marj Latta
That's terrible, couldn't do that to family photos, no matter how old. That's your family history.
Maree Nolan
Such a shame she is beautiful ..
Julie Clark
Thats so sad.
When I was a kid my mum had 3 elderly spinster aunties that lived together.
I remember hearing that after the last one passed, their brother, (who had been a minister, which for some reason to me makes it even worse) sold off all their possessions in a garage sale, and apparently someone bought their old family photos to use as scrap paper
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West Coast New Zealand History (26th Jul 2023). "I found this photo down the Cobden dump 40 years ago - who is she?'. In Website West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 31st Mar 2026 06:57, from https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/32545