A LOVE of history has led Nowra man Adrian Morgan on an interesting journey over the past four years.
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He is the founder of the Facebook page Shoalhaven in the 20th century.
“It all started when I was trying to find a photo of the giant hand holding a milk bottle that used to be on the corner of the highway and Andersons Lane as you come into Berry,” Mr Morgan said.
“My brother and I used to jump up and down on the back seat of the car and Dad would say, ‘You kids better behave or the giant will get you,’ and he would point to the milk bottle. I literally thought a giant lived underground and would come up,” he said.
Mr Morgan finally found the photo and realised he wanted to preserve this history.
“I went to the archives room at the library and thought if anything happened, like a fire, all of it would be lost,” he said of the rows and rows of newspapers that are kept on the ground floor of the Nowra library.
“I posted about 20 photos on November 21, 2011 and then left it for eight months. I told a mate of mine about it and he shared the page and it went from having 13 likes to about 600 likes,” he said.
The page is now liked by over 5000 people throughout the world.
One of his most popular posts was a photograph of the old Rocket Park in Bomaderry.
“That had over 1500 likes and a lot of shares,” he said.
The page is full of interesting photos of everyday life and moments from across the Shoalhaven. Mr Morgan spends up to 30 hours a week working on the site and getting material.
He usually sources images from old copies of the South Coast Register. He has also started digitising all of the unprinted slides and negatives in Shoalhaven City Council’s chamber archives.
“It has opened up a whole new world and driven my passion,” he said.
It is a passion he shares with others. There are over 100 uploaders who also post on the site.
“Everyone is welcome to post photos on the site. If you don’t know the origins or who is in the photo, if you post it on the site there is a good chance that someone will know something about it,” he said.
“Have a look for old photos in your cupboard and drawers and share them on the site,” he said.
Mr Morgan is also a musician, playing bass in the band Baxter Stone and the Chocolate Dogs. He also has a strong family link with the area dating back to 1820.