Pictures preserved in Facebook group

SCROLLING through the endless posts on the Bendigo Lost School & Club Photos Facebook group feels like flicking through the pages of a family photo album, as members share treasured black and white pictures from their past.

Tony Johnston founded the group in 2015 to find his own misplaced photos from a school that has since shut down, and now around 3500 members share in these searches including people who have moved away from the city or even overseas.

“It’s for people of the Bendigo area to contribute old school photos that they may have so they may share them with others,” he said.

“Generally, it seems to be people getting on from a generation that sat down years ago in old black and white photos of schools.

“On the sporting side with the clubs, some of the people are tagging their children to show photos of their grandparents when they were young and athletic.”

Mr Johnston said the experience of scrolling through the group can be a bittersweet one at times as members can also discover photos of loved ones who have since passed.

“I get quite a few messages from people thanking us for putting up a group and little stories where they’ve found photos of themselves earlier on or even brothers or sisters,” he said.

“Sadly, sometimes they find photos of their sibling that may have died earlier on, and they had no idea of the photos so it can be sweet and sour but generally it’s a good thing.”

And that “good thing” can come in many different ways, whether it’s just an opportunity to reminisce about the past, or help make reconnections.

“I actually found a couple of distant relatives through the comments that members have made,” Mr Johnston said

“The comments in the group have actually served to reunite some lost families and lost school friends from a while ago.

“You tend to reminisce on the good times so it’s a preservation of the memories.”